Body in basement murder trial expected to last five weeks

THE trial of a man accused of murdering his wife and hiding her body in a basement is expected to run for five weeks.

Harry Jarvis, 60, is charged with killing 47-year-old Carol Jarvis at her home in Bathgate, West Lothian, last year.

Co-accused Rita Heyster, 56, also faces the same murder charge. The pair deny the charges against them.

They appeared before judge Lord Kinclaven at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday, where their trial was fixed to begin on January 31 next year. Jarvis and Heyster are accused of murdering Mrs Jarvis "by means unknown" between September 11 and 15 2009 and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Prosecutors allege that Mrs Jarvis' body was wrapped in a blanket and parcel tape before being concealed in the basement of the house in Balbardie Crescent.

Both accused formally entered pleas of not guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing.