A man appeared at Maidstone Crown Court today accused of murder after a body was discovered in a house in Margate.

Aurimas Vilius, of Cornwall Gardens, is accused with Klaudijus Klimanskis, of Athelstan Road, of killing 38-year-old Edvardas Barscevicius, also from Margate.

Vilius, 24, appeared by video link with Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey.

Klimanskis, 41, was charged after Vilius and will appear in court tomorrow.

Both have also been charged with assault on another man in connection with the incident.

The body was found in Ethelbert Terrace on Monday, July 3. It is believed those involved are all known to one another.

A 54-year-old man has been released without charge and a 35-year-old man was released pending further inquiries.

But prosecutor Philip Bennetts QC said it was unlikely anybody else would be charged in connection with the alleged murder.

Vilius, who was assisted by a Russian interpreter, and Klimanskis, who are both in custody, will enter pleas on July 31.

Judge Adele Williams set a preliminary trial date for February 5 next year at either Maidstone Crown Court or Canterbury Crown Court.