A man yesterday denied murdering his ex-girlfriend by repeatedly hitting her on the head and body with knives.
Keith Rizzo, 23, is accused of killing Neomi Smith at her flat on June 9 and will face a trial early next year.
At the High Court in Glasgow, it was alleged he forced his way into a property in Brechin before compressing Neomi’s neck, restricting her breathing.
Rizzo, also of Brechin, is then said to have repeatedly struck care worker Neomi on the head and body with knives.
He faces a separate charge of assaulting Neomi to her injury and danger of life between May 5 and June 8. Prosecutors claim this happened at her flat and Hudson’s Bar in Brechin.
The charge accuses Rizzo of hitting Neomi’s head off a wall, punching her and making her lose consciousness by again compressing her neck. He is also charged with threatening and abusive behaviour towards her.
Rizzo faces further allegations involving four other women between December 2014 and May this year – with three described on the
indictment as his “ex-partner”.
Charges include claims he assaulted three of them and behaved in a threatening manner towards the other. Rizzo is also accused of resisting arrest.
He pled not guilty to the charges at a preliminary hearing and Judge Johanna Johnston QC fixed a trial due to begin next February.
