A MAN from Merton has denied the murder of a woman whose body was found in a crashed van near Hatherleigh last year.

John Doyle, 54, of Merton Hill, Merton, was remanded in custody by Judge Graham Cottle at Exeter Crown Court, to await a trial scheduled for March.

He pleased not guilty to the murder of his partner, solicitor Sian Rees, whose body was found in the vehicle on the A386, two miles outside Hatherleigh, in July. Ms Rees had worked at Peter Peter and Wright Solicitors in Okehampton since 2006.