Murder-accused woman's trial delayed

A short hearing was held at Bradford Crown Court on Friday

The trial of a woman accused of the murder of a 92-year-old man whose badly burned body was found in the garden of a house in Bradford has been delayed.

Susan Poole, 52, was charged with murdering David Hart on 19 April, and a trial date had been fixed for 7 October.

But at a Bradford Crown Court hearing on Friday, it was decided Ms Poole was currently "unfit to plead" and a new hearing to decide the future of the case would be held at the same court in September.

Ms Poole is currently detained at Rampton high-security hospital in Nottinghamshire and was absent from the short hearing.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Rose, was told at Friday's hearing that two expert reports had been prepared on the defendant.

The judge said both reports concluded that Ms Poole was “unfit to plead” and he agreed to a defence application for the trial date to be vacated.

A prosecution expert was expected to provide his report in response by early next month and Judge Rose said the case would be heard again on 4 September.

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