The trial of a man accused of killing schoolgirl April Jones got under way Monday even as her body remains unfound six months after she disappeared from her home in mid-Wales.
Mark Bridger, 47, spoke only to confirm his name as he appeared at Mold Crown Court charged with abducting and murdering the five-year-old who went missing on October 1 last year.
The former lifeguard from Ceinws was arrested the day after April disappeared while playing on her bike near her home in Machynlleth.
He denies charges of abduction, murder and unlawfully disposing of her body with intent to pervert the course of justice.
Around 50 potential jurors were brought into the court room as Bridger stood in the dock.
The group will be whittled down to 12, with anyone linked to the area deselected.
The trial is expected to begin in earnest later this week and to run until mid-June.
“It is very important that no person on the jury has any present or past connection with the Machynlleth area, and certainly no connection which would cause any concern about that particular juror sitting on the case,” said trial judge Griffith Williams, addressing would-be jurors.
The disappearance of April, who had cerebral palsy, triggered a huge show of public support for her family, with hundreds of people joining the search to find her.
But despite the intensive operation led by Dyfed Powys Police, her body has never been found. Police officially called off the search earlier this month.
April Jones murder trial begins
