Woman in court charged with murder after human remains found buried in garden

A woman has appeared in court charged with murdering a man 12 years ago and burying his body in her back garden.

Barbara Coombes, 63, is accused of killing Kenneth Coombes, believed to be her father, along with preventing his lawful and decent burial.

She made a brief three-minute appearance at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court today.

Coombes, wearing black-rimmed spectacles and a brown woolly jumper, spoke only to confirm her name, address and date of birth.

She is accused of murder on January 8 2006, and preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body, between January 7 2006 and January 10 2018.

The defendant is also accused of fraud by false representation between January 15 2007 and January 10 2018, by dishonestly making a false representation, sending official letters in the name of Mr Coombes, intending to make a gain by claiming monies not belonging to herself.

The final charge is obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception between January 7 2006 and January 15 2007, by making a false representation that she was a carer for Mr Coombes.

The mother-of-one made no reaction as she was handcuffed to a prison officer.

District Judge David Scanlon remanded her in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Friday morning.

Coombes, of Matlock Road, Reddish, Stockport, was first arrested on Sunday.

Police then dug up the back garden of her home where human remains were found and she was charged with the four offences on Wednesday night.

The human remains have not yet been formally identified.

The results of a Home Office post mortem to establish cause of death has not been disclosed.

Officers have also gone door-to-door handing out a questionnaire to neighbours to say they are investigating the death of Mr Coombes, stating he would have been in his late 80s in 2005.