Shotgun murders trial date is set

The two double murders took place four years apart in the 1980s

A man accused of two double shotgun murders in west Wales in the 1980s is to stand trial next June.

John William Cooper, 64, of Letterston, near Fishguard, appeared at Swansea Crown Court via video link to plead not guilty to the four counts of murder.

He denied killing brother and sister Richard and Helen Thomas at their mansion near Milford Haven in 1985.

He also denied killing Peter and Gwenda Dixon, of Witney, Oxfordshire, on the Pembrokeshire coastal path in 1989.

Mr Cooper was arrested in May by cold-case detectives from Dyfed-Powys Police.

At the hearing in Swansea, he also denied rape, indecent assault and five counts of attempted robbery in Milford Haven in 1996.

The defendant appeared in the court via video link from Long Lartin Prison, Worcestershire.

Mr Justice John Griffith Williams said: "This case is adjourned for trial in the week commencing June 7.

"The defendant, until that date, will remain in custody."

The trial is expected to last eight weeks.