Family members and the public have today been excluded from the Mellory Manning murder trial as days of closed court evidence begins.
The order was made by Justice David Gendall this morning, with a suppression order covering the evidence over the next few days.
Mauha Huataki Fawcett, 26, known within gang circles as `Muck Dog', denies murdering the Christchurch sex worker.
He is representing himself with assistance from an amicus curiae at a High Court trial in Christchurch.
Fawcett claims police pressured and ``coached'' him into making false confessions that he was present when Miss Manning, 27, was killed on or about December 18, 2008 over an alleged debt.
