The victim's mother Chantally Baker, of Whanganui, the dead girl's father, and other family left the court, while members of Ratana's family remained behind to avert any risk of confrontation outside.
The four days of the trial had been free of trouble in and outside of the courtroom, and the judge commended the families for their behaviour.
The jury, told Sahara died while Ms Baker was at work leaving her two daughters and the couple's son in the care of the accused, heard an hour-long closing address by defence counsel John Rowan QC, of Whanganui, and a 25-minute summary by the judge before retiring at 10.55am yesterday.
In a trial which started on Monday and which was delayed by more than a day mid-week for further "testing", Ms Baker said Ratana never revealed Sahara was dead when she got home, and she went to sleep thinking the children were also asleep.
It was only after she heard Ratana crying and talking to his father on a phone without explanation of what was wrong that she made the shock discovery, telling the court Ratana then said: "I raped her. I'm sorry. Don't call the police."
Ratana later denied to police that he had said that, and maintained the denial in court along with denying he had touched Sahara sexually in any way.
Two former short-term residents at the address, two detectives, two paediatricians, a pathologist, and a forensic scientist were called by Crown prosecutor Clayton Walker to give evidence, but no witnesses were called by defence pair Mr Rowan and Hawke's Bay barrister Eric Forster.
In his address, Mr Rowan focused on the absence of DNA from the girl linking Ratana to her sexual injuries, described by experts as most likely to have been from non-accidental penetration, although by what object could not be specified.
The fact that traces of "foreign" DNA found could not have been Ratana's was "huge," said Mr Rowan, claiming it meant Ratana could not have sexually violated the 5-year-old.
He also focused on Ratana's co-operation with police after he was found at a Taradale phone booth about 4.30 in the morning.
Mr Rowan cited Ratana's agreement to a video interview without delay, another video at Hawke's Bay Prison three days later, and his admissions of pressing forcefully on Sahara's chest and causing her death as indications of reliability of his statements.
Justice France said Ratana's claim that he didn't sexually violate the girl was "the only real issue". Saying the events were "disturbing" and that "the loss of a young life alarms and angers us all," the Judge reminded the jury not to be prejudiced by Ratana's other admissions and other sympathies.
