A 12-year-old boy accused of killing a 60-year-old grandmother yawned in the dock while he appeared in court today. Marcia Grant, described as a 'pillar of her community', was run over by her own car outside her home in the Greenhill area of Sheffield on Wednesday.
The youngster appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday charged with the murder of Ms Grant and has also been charged with possessing a bladed article. The Record of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, ruled that the case had to be prioritised due to the age of the defendant and fixed a provisional trial date which is set to commence on August 14.
He remanded the boy into secure youth detention accommodation after a 20 minute-long hearing, the Mirror reports. The boy sat in the dock in Court 7 with three staff from his secure accommodation and a court security officer.
The defendant, who was dressed in a light-brown hooded tracksuit, gazed around the court as the lawyers discussed the case. Appearing unbothered, he occasionally leaned back with his hands behind his head while looking at the journalists and police in the public gallery.
At one point he yawned and was also told by one of the officers accompanying him to take his feet down from the front wall of the dock. The young defendant spoke at the beginning of the hearing to confirm his name and again at the end to acknowledge that he understood what was happening when the judge explained what would take place next.
Judge Richardson said everything in their power should be done to bring the case to trial in August but he set a fall-back date of October 3. He also said there will be a case management hearing on May 5 at 2pm.
Mrs Grant was pronounced dead at the scene of crime on Wednesday by paramedics who discovered her outside her house in Hemper Lane, Greenhill. The boy was charged with possession of a bladed article relating to a silver kitchen knife alleged to have been found by police who were called out to the scene.
Mrs Grant's family released a moving statement after her death which said: “Marcia was a warm, loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend and a pillar of her community.”
A number of floral tributes have also been left outside the victim's semi-detached home. One message attached to the flowers said: “You were such a wonderful and beautiful lady with a heart of gold.”
Another said: “Marcia was such a lovely lady.”
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