Murdered girls: suspect remanded

Court security has been a feature for Huntley and Carr's court appearances

PETERBOROUGH, England -- The man accused of murdering UK schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells has made his first appearance in court.

Ian Huntley, 28, was ordered to be remanded in a secure psychiatric hospital for a further 28 days.

Jessica and Holly's disappearance stunned the UK and sparked a huge police operation before their bodies were found almost two weeks later about 16 km (10 miles) from their home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, eastern England.

Prosecutors said they were adding a third charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice to the two counts of murder with which Huntley has been charged.

More than 50 police were on duty outside the court to prevent a repeat of ugly scenes that accompanied the first appearance in court of his girlfriend Maxine Carr, who is charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Police had set up steel barriers outside Peterborough Magistrates Court to hold back the expected crowds -- but only about 20 people turned up.

Huntley has been held at Rampton high security hospital in Nottinghamshire since August 20, the day he was charged with murder, where he has undergone tests to see if he is fit to face trial.

He arrived at court in a police van with blackened windows and while there were a few shouts from a small crowd, there were no serious problems.

Some protesters carried placards spelling out their feelings. One woman held one aloft saying "A nation mourns" alongside a photograph of Jessica and Holly."

A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire Police said: "People always have a right to protest, as long as it's lawful. Our job is to manage that."

Holly and Jessica vanished on August 4 shortly after being seen walking near their homes in Soham. Their bodies were found close to a track near RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, on August 17.

Carr is being held on remand in Holloway prison, north London, although her lawyers say they are considering making an application for bail.