Joe Atkinson appears at Leeds Crown Court accused of Poppy Devey Waterhouse murder

The 25-year-old man accused of killing William Hill analyst Poppy Devey-Waterhouse at a flat in Richmond Hill appeared at Crown court today.
Poppy Devey-WaterhousePoppy Devey-Waterhouse
Poppy Devey-Waterhouse

Joe Atkinson's case was sent to Leeds Crown Court by magistrates yesterday and he was in the dock again today.

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The former Wetherby High School pupil is accused of murdering Poppy, 24, who was found dead in the apartment they shared in Richmond Hill on Friday morning.

Poppy was a University of Nottingham graduate who is believed to have met the defendant while they were both studying maths.

She also had a Masters degree in statistics and began a job as a quantitative trading analyst at bookmaker William Hill's Leeds offices in 2017.

A keen tennis player, Poppy coached children at a club in her home county of Somerset as a teenager.

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Atkinson appeared at Leeds Crown Court today wearing a grey prison tracksuit accompanied by one security dock officer.

The defendant did not enter a plea and only spoke to confirm his name during the short ten-minute hearing.

No application was made for bail and Atkinson was remanded in custody by Judge Rodney Jameson QC.

He will next appear at Leeds Crown Court on January 17, 2019, for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

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Members of both families were visibly emotional in the public gallery during the hearing.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman yesterday (Tues) said a post-mortem conducted found the preliminary cause of death was recorded as head and neck trauma.