Couple in court charged with murder of disabled Walsall woman Susan Whiting

Steven Beards, aged 34, of Rowland Avenue, Bentley, and Julie Beards, 35, of Heather Close, Dudley Fields, spoke only to confirm their names and addresses at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court on Saturday. Each was flanked by a guard during the short hearing.

They are due to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday for a plea and case management hearing.

Miss Whiting's body was found at a house in Heather Close last Tuesday, where she was said to have stayed on Sunday night. A

post mortem revealed she died from a head injury. The alarm was raised after Miss Whiting, 20, failed to return to her home on Station Street by lunchtime on Monday.

She had a learning impairment.