LONDON — A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of a Saudi student and a man in Colchester, BBC reported on Saturday. Nahid Almanea, 31, was stabbed 16 times as she walked to the University of Essex campus last June.
James Attfield, 33, was found with 102 knife wounds in Castle Park last March.
The boy, from Colchester, entered no plea during a short hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court. He was remanded in custody to appear at the city's crown court on Monday.
He cannot be named due to his age.
The teenager is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon. His parents, who sat in the public gallery, both shed tears as they heard the charges read out.
The boy spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and answered “yes” when the court clerk asked him if he understood the proceedings.
The boy was arrested at the same riverside footpath where Almanea was brutally stabbed to death, the Mirror reported on Saturday.
Police arrested the 16-year-old boy on the Salary Brook Trail at just after 11 a.m. on Tuesday on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.
The arrest marks the first significant development in two cases which have remained unsolved for some time.
Vulnerable James Attfield, known as Jim, had suffered brain injuries in a car accident and was last seen at the River Lodge cafe in Middleborough on a Friday night.
The next morning the shy, quiet man was found having been stabbed more than 100 times with injuries to his arms, hands, back, neck and head.
Nahid Almanea, a Saudi Arabian student, was knifed to death at around 10.40 a.m. as she walked form her student accommodation to her English language program at university.
Essex Police confirmed she was wearing a dark navy blue full length robe called an Abaya, and a patterned multi-colored hijab headscarf.
Richard Barnard, head of the International Academy at the University of Essex, told how she had recently achieved the highest score in her class for a recent test.
However, she died before tutors had the chance to tell her of her success.
Barnard paid tribute to her, saying she had a quiet determination to succeed. — SG
