A woman accused of murdering her husband after human remains were found at their home has been remanded in custody after appearing in crown court.

Maureen Rickards, 50, was arrested last week by police investigating the disappearance of Jeremy Rickards, who had not been seen by his family for weeks.

The search for the 65-year-old came to a tragic end last Thursday after human remains were found at a terraced house in St Martin’s Road, Canterbury, where the couple lived.

His wife was later charged with murder and appeared before Margate Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning.

While police say efforts to formally identify the deceased continue, Mr Rickards was named as the victim in official charge details provided to magistrates and his family were also informed about the discovery of the remains. The case was sent to Maidstone Crown Court to be dealt with.

Mr Rickards had been reported missing on Friday, July 5, with his family telling police they had not seen him since the start of June.

His wife is alleged to have murdered him between June 7 and July 11 – the day the remains were discovered at their home.

During a brief hearing at Maidstone Crown Court this afternoon, Rickards appeared via video link from HMP Bronzefield where she is being held on remand.

Judge Philip St John-Stevens was told by prosecutor, Martin Yale, that the case would probably be transferred to Canterbury Crown Court because of the geographical area where the alleged murder happened.

He also told the judge he understood Rickards’ defence team were not making an application for bail during the hearing. She has not yet entered a plea, but a potential trial date had been identified for December 9 or 10 this year and would be expected to last two weeks.

Judge St John-Stevens then set a date for Rickards’ preliminary hearing which will probably be held at the Maidstone court on August 15. He said the location of that hearing would be confirmed at a later date.

Danny Moore, defending Rickards, told the judge he had been able to have some time with his client, but said he needed to find out more information about her and her mental health before the preliminary hearing.

Judge St John-Stevens then told Rickards he was remanding her in custody until her next court appearance.

As he told her the hearing was now at an end, Rickards said: “Thank you, sir.”

Mr Rickards’ murder investigation is being carried out by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Pictures taken at the scene in Canterbury on Friday showed three houses cordoned off with police tape, including number 32 – the address given by Rickards at the Margate court earlier this week.

Residents have reacted to their street, which is home to many families and students, being turned into a crime scene, with a large presence of police and forensics officers.

One neighbour, 21-year-old university student Katie Dolbear told the Gazette: “It was a complete shock. We didn’t know what was going on. We just saw loads of vans pull up.

“It was quite worrying. We were a bit scared and concerned about what was going on. We double-locked the doors.

“It’s not something you expect to have on this road, especially. There’s lots of families on this road and students.”

Another student who lives in St Martin’s Road, 21-year-old Matthew Carney, said: “It’s a pretty shocking piece of news to hear.

“I wouldn’t have thought it would have been happening a few doors down from your doorstep.”