A 42-year-old man denied killing former Kent landlady Julie Butler when he appeared before a crown court judge.

David Kirsch also pleaded not guilty at Winchester Crown Court to two charges of having sex with a dead body.

Kirsch, of Western Road, Aldershot, was remanded in custody to reappear at the same court on March 25. The first day of his trial has been provisionally set for May 6.

Mrs Butler, 49, a grandmother, ran the Little Crown pub, in Chatham High Street, until three years ago, when she left to start a new life in Hampshire.

She had previously worked at the White Lion pub, also in Chatham High Street.

Her body was discovered on October 10 last year, at the Imperial Standard pub in Aldershot, where she worked.