Three men and a woman have appeared in court charged with helping Nathan Matthews dispose of and conceal body parts of his 16-year-old stepsister Becky Watts.
Twin brothers Karl and Donovan Demetrius, Jaydene Parsons and James Ireland were brought before a district judge at Bristol magistrates court the day after Becky’s stepbrother stood in the same dock charged with her murder.
The four are accused of jointly assisting an offender. The details given in court were that between 22 February – three days after Becky vanished – and 3 March they assisted in the disposal and concealment of the body parts, intending to “impede the apprehension or prosecution” of Matthews. According to the charge, they knew or believed him to have committed murder or another offence carrying a term of five years imprisonment or more.
Two of the four, Karl Demetrius, 29, and Parsons, 23, live in Barton Court, a cul-de-sac where police found Becky’s body parts on Monday night. Donovan Demetrius gave his address as Marsh Lane in Bristol, just around the corner from Barton Court. Ireland, 23, is from Avonmouth on the other side of the city.
None of the four’s lawyers made an application for bail. The four, all wearing T-shirts and surrounded by five custody officers, were remanded in custody by the district judge Lynne Matthews to appear on 26 March at Bristol crown court. They were led in and out of the dock in handcuffs.
The court was packed with family members of the four, police officers involved in the investigation, including DS Mike Courtiour, who fronted the appeals when the inquiry was still a missing person’s investigation, and members of the press.
Earlier on Friday, Matthews, 28, made his first crown court appearance and heard that he could face trial in the autumn. He will also next appear on 26 March for a review hearing together with his girlfriend, Shauna Hoare, 21, who is accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
As he waited for his hearing to start, Matthews, who appeared via videolink, could be seen in a room at Bristol prison, watched over by a guard. When the hearing began, he spoke only to confirm that he could hear and his name.
James Ward, prosecuting, told the recorder of Bristol, Judge Neil Ford, that Matthews had been charged with the murder of Rebecca Watts. The judge agreed that it was not appropriate to give details of the case in open court.
Ford recommended that steps be taken to ensure Matthews and Hoare could not get in touch.
The judge set two “tentative” dates for any future trial in September and October. He said it was likely that a high court judge would hear the case. No application for bail was made and he was remanded in custody.
Becky vanished from her home in Crown Hill, St George, Bristol, on 19 February. Police launched a huge search after she was reported missing the following afternoon, including a social media campaign. Bouquets, teddies and cards have been left at Becky’s family home, as well as at Barton Court.
Matthews and Hoare were arrested last Saturday, just over a week after Becky vanished.
Avon and Somerset police arrested five people on Monday night following the discovery of body parts at a Barton Court address, around 100m from a house Matthews and Hoare shared. The fifth person arrested - a 23-year-old man - was released without charge.
