MURDERER Christopher Halliwell revelled in the power and control he could exert from the dock.

Defending himself, he was able to cross-examine witnesses.

He forced his ex-partner Heather Widdowson to come to court and face him.

She was so terrified of him she gave evidence from behind a screen, and physically shook as she addressed the jury - almost unable to lift a plastic cup to her lips and take a few calming sips of water.

Halliwell then declined to ask her any questions.

When he was later rebuked by the judge, Halliwell said he did not ask Ms Widdowson any questions because he could tell she was "upset".

The taxi driver also did not miss an opportunity to taunt his nemesis, Steve Fulcher, the former detective superintendent who had brought him to justice.

He could not resist one final dig at the ex-policeman, who resigned four months after being found guilty of gross misconduct by Wiltshire Police over his handling of the Halliwell inquiry, telling him: "It was a pleasure ruining your career. You corrupt bastard."

The 52-year-old built his case from his prison cell at high-security HMP Long Lartin and was given the aid of legal texts and bundles of paperwork.

Initially appearing in court dressed in a dark suit, crisp white shirt and light blue tie, and wearing reading glasses when referring to his case material, the cab driver attempted to look the part.

As the trial progressed he took less care about his appearance, dispensing with his jacket and tie and instead wore a short-sleeved shirt which was not tucked in to his trousers.

Halliwell sometimes looked distracted in the dock, twirling his glasses while listening to the prosecutor's opening statement, or glaring at the members of his victim's families or the press in the public gallery.

And he even revealed he once drafted his legal argument against the prosecution case on a handwritten side of A4 at 3am.

When asked about the document on the first day of his trial, Halliwell said: "I believe I wrote that note at 3am and I forgot to make a copy for myself."

He accused the prosecutor, Nicholas Haggan QC, of misleading the judge by suggesting a list of witnesses approved by the defendant had not been given to the court.

And he scrawled notes on an official document of the agreed evidence he was asked to sign, prompting the judge to direct that those annotations did not form part of the case.

In one particularly fiery exchange with former prostitute Miss X, he described her evidence as a "fairytale" and denied ever meeting her.

"I would obviously recognise him because I've been up close and personal with him," she replied.

"I don't understand how he can sit there and say he doesn't know me. I'm a hundred, million per cent sure."

Halliwell then drew gasps from the public gallery when he demanded Miss X tell him what colour his eyes were.

"What colour were Becky's eyes?" she retorted.

He later dismissed Miss X's evidence, describing her as "an ex-drug addict who sold herself for sex", telling the jury: "She didn't do anything for me. Not my type."

Halliwell had refused to produce a defence case statement - beyond a couple of paragraphs denying any knowledge of Miss Godden's murder - and when he entered the witness box on the eighth day of the trial no one knew what he was going to say.

During his cross-examination of Mr Fulcher, Halliwell promised: "By the end of this process you will know the truth. You won't like it but you will know the truth."

But there was no conspiracy theory or grand account, just a rambling story about two mystery drug dealers who had buried Miss Godden in the field after he drove them there.

Halliwell claimed the two men, who he did not describe or name, had loaded a large sports bag into his car and buried what it contained while he stayed away for an hour.

When asked how they buried her, Halliwell suggested a spade could have fitted inside the bag, or that the men could have used their hands.

"I used to be a groundworker," he said. "Two reasonably healthy individuals in an hour should be able to dig a hole 5ft deep, 6ft long and 3ft wide."

Gripping the sides of the wooden witness box, Halliwell gave rambling monologues about tiny details in the case.

"It is not a digging spade, it is a coal shovel," he said in response to a question about a spade found in his garden shed, which had soil from Oxo Bottom field on it.

He repeatedly insisted he had come to court to "tell the truth", describing the experience as his "worst nightmare" due to his quiet and reserved personality.

"I said that I would stand here and tell the absolute truth," he said.

"It has got to come from me and that's why I am defending myself, albeit badly - the truth has to come from me."

Mr Haggan accused a "smug" Halliwell of telling a pack of lies, saying he had "lied time and time and time again" during his evidence.

He told the jury: "This is a man who goes into the witness box and is not overawed at being asked questions by Queen's Counsel suggesting that he is guilty of murder."

The prosecution does not automatically have the right to give a closing speech to the jury in cases where a defendant is representing himself.

Retired High Court judge Sir John Griffith Williams ruled closing speeches could be given in the interests of fairness, describing Halliwell as "intelligent and articulate".

"It is obvious to me that he has put his case selectively to the jury, that he has deliberately withheld details of his defence to the last minute," the judge said.

Halliwell replied that he felt he had given his account "clearly" and probably would not give a closing speech.

By the following day he had changed his mind and addressed the jury from the dock to describe evidence in the case against him as "rubbish".

"Do I need to say more?" he asked the jury, before telling the judge:

"Thank you My Lord, I am finished."