Two brothers accused of murdering a Cardiff woman used Star Wars phrases to communicate in code before her disappearance, a jury heard yesterday.
David Cooper, 39, from Leicester, and Roger Cooper, 41, from Coventry, are alleged to have used references to Darth Vader and the Death Star space station to inform each other on an aborted “mission” against Sameena Imam.
Her body was found at an allotment in Leicester in January.
Both men have denied murder.
It is alleged ex-soldier David Cooper helped his brother, who was a lover of Ms Imam, to kill her on Christmas Eve.
On the second day of the of their trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Timothy Spencer QC, prosecuting, said the pair formed “a plan” against Ms Imam on 11 December.
But the plan – which took place three days after David Cooper bought chloroform online – was abandoned, the court heard.
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During that time the prosecution allege the pair sent Star Wars-coded text messages to each other, including “Death Star complete”, “Stay on target, stay on target” and “You are expected Vader”.
Mr Spencer said: “We suggest that [the text messages] are code that both men understand.
“They have a plan for this day and they are using code, one to inform the other of how far they have got on their mission.”
Another message written in misspelt French included the words “nil points” and was an acknowledgement that the plan had failed, it was claimed.
He added: “I can’t tell you precisely what the plan was, what the code really was.”
On Monday, the court heard both brothers had a “genuine interest” in Star Wars models and action figures.
Yesterday, the prosecution claimed David Cooper made eBay purchases of 200ml of chloroform and 50g of copper powder.
The trial continues.
