A 12-year-old boy charged in connection with the death of a grandmother has appeared in court as a date was set for his murder trial.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is alleged to have run over 60-year-old grandmother Marcia Grant with her own car in Greenhill on 5 April.
Wearing a light-brown hooded tracksuit, the boy was sat in the dock at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday with three staff from his secure accommodation and a court security officer.
The 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 judge explained what was going to happen next.
The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said the case had to be prioritised due to the age of the defendant and he fixed a provisional trial date for 14 August, with a fallback date of 3 October.
Judge Richardson dispensed with his normal robes for the 20-minute long hearing, as did prosecutor Ian Goldsack and Ben Campbell, who was defending the boy.
He is also charged with possession of a bladed article relating to a silver kitchen knife alleged to have been found by police called to the incident.
The boy was remanded into secure youth detention accommodation. A case management hearing will take place on 5 May.
Mrs Grant’s family released a 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.”
