Woman appears in court after man found dead in van

A woman has appeared in court charged with murder after a man was found dead in the back of a van in a car park.

Harinder Kaur, 39, of Sutton Dene in Hounslow, west London, was charged after the body of a man in his 30s was discovered in a Ford Transit van in Garden Street, Leicester, at about 17:30 BST on 27 May.

Kaur, who is also charged with perverting the course of justice, was told through a Punjabi interpreter she was in a "very serious position" by Judge Timothy Spencer KC at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday.

An application will be made to move the case to the Old Bailey in London.

The investigation was launched by East Midlands Special Operations Unit with help from Leicestershire Police, but was later transferred to the Metropolitan Police.

Police said the van was registered to an address in west London.

Prosecution counsel Elizabeth Dodds told Judge Timothy Spencer KC a request would be made to transfer the case from Leicester Crown Court to the Old Bailey in London because the crime scene and many witnesses are in the city.

Judge Spencer adjourned the hearing so inquiries could be made with the Central Criminal Court about whether it had capacity to take on the case, but he said Leicester could accommodate a trial in January or February 2027.

The judge told Kaur: "You are in a very serious position. You face a murder charge, the most serious charge.

"There is something of a question mark over where your trial will be."

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