April Jones: Bridger ‘probably responsible’ for death
The barrister for Mark Bridger, accused of murdering missing five-year-old April Jones, tells a court his client was “probably responsible” for her death.
Former lifeguard Mark Bridger earlier pleaded not guilty to the abduction and murder of five-year-old April Jones, who went missing in mid-Wales last year.
He also pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice.
Bridger, of Mount Pleasant farmhouse in the village of Ceinws, near Machynlleth, is due to go on trial at Mold crown court on 25 February.
Today’s hearing lasted an hour. April’s parents sat just a few metres away from Mark Bridger, occasionally looking at him. Bridger stared straight ahead for much of the hearing. He will be taken back to Strangeways prison later today.
Search continues
April was last seen playing out on her bike on Machynlleth’s Bryn-y-Gog estate, where she lived, on the evening of 1 October 2012.
Bridger was arrested the following day, but the search for April’s body goes on.
The case sparked an outpouring of support for April’s family, with hundreds of people joining the search.