Trial date set for man accused of killing woman in Lewes

Richard Canlin, 41, unemployed and of no fixed address, is charged with the murder of 39-year-old Nicola Stevenson, whose body was found in a wheelie bin in Lewes on November 13, last year.

He appeared before Brighton Magistrates’ Court on November 18, via a video link.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed a trial had been set for April 27, at Lewes Crown Court.

Tributes poured in for Ms Stevenson, a mother-of-two. Her body was tragically discovered in a bin in undergrowth on the edge of the recreation ground off Landport Road by a dog walker. Police believed that it had been there for some time.

Her death was initially treated as unexplained, but a post-mortem found she died as a result of a blunt force trauma to her head.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Friday, from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “Our thoughts at this time are with Nicola’s family and friends and we are determined to seek justice for them.”

The Express understands Ms Stevenson was a recovering cancer patient who moved to her home in Stansfield Road, Lewes about a year ago.

She is believed to originally hail from Edinburgh and was a former pupil of Balerno High School in the city, our sister paper The Scotsman reported.

Her final Facebook post was on October 9.