Date set for trial of Plymouth caretaker accused of murder

A JUDGE has set a trial date for a caretaker accused of murdering a pensioner.

Brian Short, aged 52, appeared at Plymouth Crown Court for the first time charged with killing Michael Brincat.

Bespectacled Short, wearing smart black trousers and a striped shirt, did not enter a plea to the single charge of murdering the 76-year-old.

But Judge Graham Cottle set down a trial to last two to three weeks beginning on December 2.

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Short spoke only to confirm his name and waved briefly to friends and family who packed the court for the five-minute hearing.

He was remanded back into custody to appear back at the court for an interim hearing on June 3.

The body of Mr Brincat, who was known as 'Maltese Mike', was found at his Devonport flat. A post-mortem examination found he died from asphyxiation.

Short works as a caretaker for Plymouth Community Homes (PCH), which manages Marlborough House, the flats where Mr Brincat was found dead on February 5.

Mr Brincat served in the Merchant Navy and was awarded a medal for service during the Suez crisis in the 1950s.

He was said by residents to be partially-sighted and a frequent visitor to the bookmakers on the corner of Marlborough Street.