Man Formally Charged Over Birmingham Stabbing

A man has appeared at Birmingham Crown Court after being formally charged with the murder of a teenager on a bus in Birmingham.

22 year old Phillip Simelane spoke to confirm his name at Birmingham Crown Court this morning. He was remanded into a secure mental health facility.

Simelane is accused of stabbing 16-year-old Christina Edkins on the number 9 bus on Birmingham's Hagley Road just after 7:30am lThursday 7 March. 

Police confirmed that the authority to charge Simelane was granted by the Crown Prosecution Service on Tuesday (12 March).

But the charges were only formally put to him at 9am on the 15th March, after he was brought back into police custody from a secure unit, where his mental state was being assessed by medical experts.

Speaking outside court, Superintendent Richard Baker said:

"We continue to support Christina's family, who are extremely relieved that someone has been charged."

Simelane is due to appear for a plea and case management hearing at Birmingham Crown Court on 31 May while a provisional trial date has been set for mid-July.