Hazel North’s boyfriend in court on murder charge
THE boyfriend of tragic teenager Hazel North yesterday appeared in court charged with her murder.
John Davis, 25, is accused of killing the 19-year-old after her body was found in a park in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, on Monday.
It is alleged he assaulted and murdered Miss North at his flat in the town between February 28 and March 23. Prosecutors also claim he assaulted and struck her on the head and body on February 2.
Davis is also charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice by concealing her body in Dean Park and failing to report the death to the authorities. He is further accused ofassaulting police sergeant Thomas Brown to his severe injury.
Davis made no plea or declaration during a brief appearance in private at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.
He was remanded in custody by Sheriff Alistair Watson for further investigation and will appear in court again next Tuesday.
Miss North, from Dunfermline, Fife, last contacted her family on March 4, after telling her sister Carine that she was going to meet a friend in Kilmarnock.
She was reported missing on Friday, sparking a major police hunt and desperate pleas for information from her worried family.
Carine and brother Michael issued an emotional appeal for information at the weekend on Facebook.
Michael posted: “Please continue to share posts to aid the search and get everybody looking so we can have her back to the family who love her.”
Over the weekend, hopes were raised that Miss North was still alive after reports of a possible sighting in Stranraer, Wigtownshire.
But officers sealed off part of Dean Park on Sunday evening as the search for the teenager intensified, ending in the discovery of her body.