The man accused of murdering 12-year-old Tia Sharp appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday.
Stuart Hazell, 37, from New Addington, south London, is charged with murdering the schoolgirl between August 2 and 11.
He appeared via videolink from Belmarsh prison in south- east London, wearing an orange T-shirt and sitting next to a prison officer. No application for bail was made.
Hazell was remanded in custody and will appear for a plea and case management hearing at the same court on November 19. Tia's body was found at her grandmother Christine Sharp's home in New Addington last Friday, a week after she was reported missing.
Hazell is the partner of Ms Sharp, 46, who was arrested on suspicion of murder but bailed on Sunday pending further inquiries. Her next-door neighbour, Paul Meehan, 39, was bailed on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Police only discovered Tia's body after several visits to the terraced property, and have apologised to her mother, Natalie Sharp, for the delay in finding her daughter.
Her body has yet to be formally identified, but Tia is named as the victim in the charge against Hazell.
A post-mortem examination which was paused on Saturday night is scheduled to resume today.
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