07/07/2009

Tobin Murder Trial Halted Due To Illness

The trial of the man accused of murdering an 18-year-old teenage girl has been halted after a judge found he was not fit to stand trial.

The judge, sitting at Chelmsford Crown Court discharged the jury, saying that Peter Tobin, who is 62, was ill and needed surgery.

Tobin denies murdering Dinah McNicol, 18, who disappeared in the summer of 1991 after attending a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire.

Her remains were discovered in 2007 in the garden of a Kent house where Tobin had lived.

The trial had begun on 23 June, but jurors had not heard evidence for more than a week due to Tobin's illness.

Jurors had heard a summary of the prosecution case and evidence from a number of prosecution witnesses.

Mr Justice Calvert-Smith told the court the 61-year-old had shingles with "complications".

The judge added Tobin's condition would require "surgical intervention".

The case at Chelmsford crown court was adjourned on Tuesday and lawyers said a new trial date had been fixed for 14 December.

(JM/BMcC)

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