The man accused of murdering Jane Longhurst appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court this morning.

Graham James Coutts, 35, stood with his head bowed as Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Sussex, outlined the case against him.

Coutts, a part-time musician and sales rep, was remanded in custody to Lewes Crown Court on May 12.

Coutts, wearing a dark blue roll-neck sweater, spoke only to give his name, his address in Waterloo Street, Hove, and his date of birth, April 23, 1968.

Mrs Saunders said Coutts is charged with murdering Jane between March 14, the day she disappeared from her home in Shaftsbury Road, Brighton, and April 19 when her body was discovered at Wiggonholt Common, near Pulborough.

Coutts was asked whether he understood the charge. He replied: "Yes."

There was no application for bail.

District Judge Anne Arnold asked Coutts to stand as she remanded him to a preliminary hearing at Lewes Crown Court at 9.30am.

Flanked by male and female guards, he was led away to cells after the eight-minute hearing.

Miss Longhurst, 31, was last seen by her partner Malcolm Sentance at the home the couple shared.

Her body was found in woodland on an RSPB sanctuary near Pulborough. A post-mortem examination revealed she had been strangled.