Nikki Allan trial: Witness heard screams on night of killing

The court heard a witness saw Nikki walking with an older man

Screams were heard coming from a derelict building where seven-year-old Nikki Allan was found dead more than 30 years ago, a court was told.

Nikki's body was found with 37 stab wounds in the derelict Old Exchange building, Sunderland, in October 1992.

Carol Osborne who lived in a flat overlooking nearby High Street East heard "quite a powerful scream", Newcastle Crown Court heard.

David Boyd, 55, of Chesterton Court, Stockton-on-Tees, denies murder.

In a written statement, the court was told Ms Osbourne was reading when she "heard the sound of someone screaming" which she described as "coming from the other side of High Street East".

'Breaking wood'

She said the noise only "lasted a couple of seconds " and she carried on reading her book, the jury heard.

But a "couple of minutes later" she heard a scream "coming from the same direction. It sounded as if the scream was made by the same person - a girl."

In another written statement, the jury heard from Patricia Irwin, who on the same evening had finished her shift at a fish factory and was walking to a bus stop with workmates when she heard the "sound of breaking wood".

She said when her group reached the main front door of the derelict building she heard "the sound of either a cat wailing or a howling wind coming from the inside of the building itself".

The sound had "unnerved" her, Ms Irwin said.

An artist's impression of the suspect in the murder of Nikki Allan was shown to the jury

Earlier, the jury heard how on the the night Nikki disappeared another witness saw a young girl walking with a man.

In a written statement, Margaret Hodgson thought the pair were father and daughter, when she spotted them as she sat in a car waiting for her mother.

"They were walking together but not hand in hand. At intervals the little girl would drop behind and then skip to catch up," she said.

"They appeared to be father and daughter. Nothing appeared untoward".

Ms Hodgson said the man was aged between 27 and 28 and about 5ft 8ins tall, with "dark coloured hair in a skinhead starting to grow out".

The jury has previously been shown CCTV footage the prosecution says shows Nikki and her killer and features an adult walking in front of a child.

The trial continues.