An appeal court is to reconsider the verdicts given to two men in relation to the killing of West Malling teacher Lauren Patterson.

The 24-year-old, whose family home is in Leybourne Chase, went missing last year following a night out in Qatar, where she was teaching English at a primary school.

Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah al-Jabr was found guilty of her murder last month and sentenced to death, despite maintaining Lauren had died accidentally.

Another man, Mohamed Abdallah Hassan Abdul Aziz, was sentenced to three years in prison for helping the killer to dispose of Lauren’s body by burning it, as well as damaging and getting rid of other evidence.

Lauren had just returned from attending her grandmother’s funeral in England.

This week Qatar’s appellate court convened for the first time to discuss the case.

It is understood that both the defendants’ lawyer keen on a lighter ruling and the public prosecutor who wanted a harsher sentence for the accomplice, had appealed the verdict.

The hearing was adjourned until June 8.