…Researched and contributed by Adetayo Ajala.
Sharon Henderson, a mother whose seven-year-old daughter Nikki Allan was murdered 30 years ago, struggled to contain her emotions in court as she faced the man accused of the crime.
David Boyd, 55, also known as David Smith and David Bell, has been accused of killing Nikki Allan in Sunderland in October 1992.
The process of selecting a jury to try Boyd began, and Mrs Justice Lambert told them that it was a serious and important case.
Prosecuting barrister Gillian Batts read out the names of people who will feature in the trial to ensure that jurors have no previous knowledge of the case.
She also mentioned another man called George Heron, who was prosecuted for Nikki Allan’s murder at Leeds Crown Court in 1993.
Boyd, from Norton, Teesside, pleaded not guilty to murder at a previous hearing.
Nikki Allan’s murder shocked the nation in 1992.
The young girl disappeared while walking the short distance from her grandparents’ flat to her own in the same apartment block.
A massive search was launched, and her body was discovered the next day in a nearby derelict building.
She had suffered multiple stab wounds.
The trial is expected to last up to five weeks and is due to begin tomorrow, with an outline of the prosecution case.