The Gerard Baden-Clay trial is coming to a close. Here's what you need to know.

In the next few days, seven men and five women will decide Gerard Baden-Clay’s fate.

Forty-three-year-old Gerard Baden-Clay has been charged with the murder of his wife, 43-year-old Allison. Mrs Baden-Clay’s body was found ten days after she went missing, beneath a bridge in Brisbane’s west on April 30, 2012.

The closing statements of both the defence and the prosecution have now been told to the court – and soon the jury will decide whether or not Gerard is guilty of his wife’s murder.

The prosecution

The prosecution argued that Mr Baden-Clay was facing pressure from both his wife and long-term mistress Tony McHugh at the time of his wife’s disappearance. It was also argued that Baden-Clay was under stress, due to financial difficulties brought on by his failing business.

Prosecutor Todd Fuller told the Supreme Court jury that Baden-Clay’s numerous infidelities and affairs prove that he had the “bravado and confidence”  to believe he could get away with murder.

He said that the various infidelities “shows you the level of deception, it shows you what this man is capable of doing, his level of bravado and confidence in what he can carry out and carry off.”

The prosecutor also responded to the defence’s claims, who say that Allison Baden-Clay may have jumped or fell to her death after taking too many anti-depressants. He said it was unlikely that Allison had walked the 13 kilometres from her home, to where her body was found.

He said, “You can safely assume her body was dumped where it was found, 13 kilometres from her home. She did not fall or jump down there, she was thrown down there.”

The prosecution called witnesses who said that in the months before her death Allison was not depressed or suicidal. Further, Mr Fuller argued that there was no evidence to suggest that she had gone “on a bender” after overdosing on anti-depressants.

Mr Fuller also criticised Baden-Clay for failing to tell police about the heated argument he had with Toni McHugh – one of his mistresses – on the afternoon of April 19, 2012.

Further, he said that the DNA of another person had been found underneath Allison Baden-Clay’s fingernails; and that the scratches on Gerard Baden-Clay’s face that day – which appeared on the morning his wife went missing – were more consistent with fingernail scratches than shaving cuts, as Baden-Clay maintained they were. Mr Fuller called the scratches “damning”.

“Her left hand scratching the right side of his face,” Mr Fuller said. “They are damning and link him to the act of violence without any doubt.”

In another argument, the prosecution told the jury that six different species of leaves were found in Mrs Baden-Clay’s hair and jumper when her body was found. Only two of the species of plant were found near the bridge; while all six were found at the Baden-Clay’s home.

“They inextricably link Mrs Baden-Clay to her house and inextricably link her death to her house,” Mr Fuller said. “All six and no more and no less.”

Mr Fuller also encouraged the jury to look at the facts in ‘context’ – not one by one.

“It’s not about isolating particular points and discrediting them. It is a question of what they say to you collectively,” he said. “You don’t take each piece to see if it proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“What you do is at the end of the day look at it as a whole … that’s when you look at if you’re satisfied beyond reasonable doubt. There is a superficial attraction in looking at each piece of evidence in isolation … but it is all about the context.”

The defence

Earlier, the defence presented a very different argument.

Defence lawyer Michael Byrne told the jury, “If you are left with a reasonable doubt, it is your duty to acquit.” He said that there was not sufficient evidence in the prosecution’s case to find Gerard Baden-Clay guilty.

He also argued that, “He is not the sort of person who would cold-bloodedly kill his wife, nor would he explode in a rage of temper.”

The defence said that while Gerard Baden-Clay might have done other things – such as have affairs – that the public might find despicable, that does not make him a murderer.

“You may find his morals despicable, but that’s a far cry from labelling him a murderer,” Mr Byrne said.

While the crown argued that it could not be conclusively proven that Allison was drowned or jumped from the bridge – the defence argued that they could not prove she didn’t.

Mr Byrne, told the jurors, “[Allison] is supposed to be going to the conference the next day. She avoids confrontation … what if she decides to go for a walk at that time to clear her head. What if, because of her depression, she takes Zoloft tablet around 10:00pm or 11:00pm.”

“That would explain why she changed into [the] clothes which she is found in, leaves the house … but first placed Gerard’s phone she had possession of on the charger around 1:48am.

“She begins to walk her usual route along Boscombe Road and decides to walk a bit further … it’s about 4:00am … peak in the blood stream, medication is absorbed into her system.

“It’s no longer present in the stomach but we know the levels are in the blood. Maybe with that increase in dosage we have serotonin syndrome. Consider that as a scenario … and at some time, for some reason, she ends up in the river.”

He also argued that while it was said that the scratches on Mr Baden-Clay’s looked like they were likely to have come from fingernails – it could not be proven that they were not caused by shaving.

“These scratches, any way you look at them … cannot themselves convict Gerard Baden-Clay of murder,” he told the jury.

He also pointed out that besides the blood found in Allison Baden-Clay’s car, there was no blood anywhere else – or indeed any signs of a disturbance.

The summation will be delivered by Justice John Byrne, and then the jury will retire to consider their verdict.

We’ll update this post with further details as they emerge.