Britain: The man accused of murdering the Cambridgeshire schoolgirls,Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, yesterday admitted perverting the course of justice following their deaths.
But Mr Ian Hunter, a former school caretaker, who appeared in the dock for the first time with his girlfriend, Ms Maxine Carr, denied murdering the two girls, both 10, who vanished after being seen walking near their homes in Sohamlast August.
The parents of the two girls watched as Mr Huntley (29), who worked at Soham Village College at the time the girls disappeared, entered his plea at the Old Bailey in London.
Ms Carr (26), who was a teaching assistant in Holly's and Jessica's class at St Andrew's Primary School, Soham, denied two charges of assisting an offender and one of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
It was the first time Mr Huntley and Ms Carr, who lived in Mr Huntley's house near Soham Village College, had appeared in court together since they were first charged in August.
The girls' parents, plus Jessica's sisters, sat a few yards from the defendants in Court No 1.
Mr Kevin Wells and his wife, Nicola, stared at the dock as the defendants entered their pleas.
Ms Sharon Chapman, also a teaching assistant at St Andrew's School, and her husband, Leslie, stared ahead, with Mr Chapman glancing at the defendants from time to time. The families sat with police officers including Det Chief Supt Chris Stevenson, who is heading the investigation.
The defendants, in barely audible voices, confirmed their names and entered pleas before Mr Justice Moses. The families left court after hearing the pleas.
Mr Huntley, dressed in a white shirt, grey tie and dark trousers, glanced occasionally at Ms Carr. She, dressed in a dark trouser suit and blue blouse, looked ahead, occasionally biting her lip.
They were led into the dock separately and were separated by a dock officer, one of a seven-strong escort.
The public gallery was packed for the hearing, which lasted about an hour and included a short break as the pleas were entered. The couple were remanded in custody. Their Old Bailey trial is scheduled to begin on October 6th.
Mr Huntley was driven to court from Woodhill Prison near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Ms Carr was driven from Holloway Prison, north London.
A bunch of pink roses was left at the entrance to the Old Bailey before the hearing. An attached message read: "Holly and Jessica, gone but never forgotten. Rest in peace."
The two girls vanished on August 4th last year. Their bodies were found on August 17th in a ditch near Lakenheath, Suffolk.
- (PA)