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April Jones murder trial adjourned for two months April Jones murder trial adjourned for two months
(about 4 hours later)
The family of five-year-old April Jones will have to wait another two months before the man accused of her murder goes on trial, a court has heard. The family of five-year-old April Jones will have to wait another two months before the man accused of her murder goes on trial.
Mark Bridger was arrested the day after the schoolgirl vanished while playing on her bike near her home in Machynlleth, mid-Wales, on 1 October last year. The 47-year-old was due to go on trial at Mold crown court on Monday. But the case was adjourned by Mr Justice Griffith-Williams on application of the defence "to make further inquiries". Mark Bridger had been due to stand trial on Monday but the case was adjourned after his legal team applied to have it postponed "to make further inquiries".
A new trial date has been set for 29 April. The judge, Mr Justice Griffith Williams, made it clear that he wanted the trial to begin as soon as possible.
Coral and Paul Jones, April's parents, attended Monday's hearing wearing pink ribbons, which have come to symbolise the ongoing search for their daughter. "Everyone knows my anxiety was that this matter must be brought to trial at the earliest opportunity," he said. "I'm very, very mindful of the terrible strain that this case is causing April's parents."
Bridger sat in the dock looking straight ahead, not making eye contact with the couple. Bridger, 47, a former lifeguard, was arrested the day after the schoolgirl vanished while playing on her bicycle near her home in Machynlleth, mid Wales, on 1 October last year.
The judge ordered that none of the matters discussed in the hearing could be reported. During a hearing at Mold crown court, north Wales, in January, Bridger, who lives in a tiny village close to Machynlleth, denied abduction, murder and intending to pervert the course of justice by concealing or disposing of the little girl's body.
The disappearance of April, who had cerebral palsy, triggered a massive outpouring of support for her family, with hundreds of people joining the search for her. April's body has never been found despite a major operation led by Dyfed-Powys police. Jones's parents, Coral and Paul, were at Mold crown court again on Monday. Wearing the pink ribbons that have come to symbolise hope that April may be found, they sat in the well of a packed court one, about five metres from Bridger.
Bridger, of Ceinws, is charged with abducting and murdering April, and of unlawfully disposing of and concealing her body with intent to pervert the course of justice. Bridger wore a blue, open-necked shirt and jeans. He sat looking straight ahead in the dock, not making eye contact with April's parents. He had shaved off his beard since his last appearance.
He pleaded not guilty to the allegations on 14 January. The judge told the court: "This trial has been adjourned at the defence's request." He ordered that none of the matters discussed at the hearing could be reported and said the trial would be listed to begin on Monday 29 April.
April's disappearance sparked a massive outpouring of support for her family, with hundreds of people joining the search. The youngster's body has never been found despite a huge operation led by Dyfed-Powys police. She had been allowed to stay out late on the evening she vanished because her mother and father had received glowing reports of her at a parents' evening.