A woman has appeared in court accused of murder after a woman in her 70s was found dead in Stanford-le-Hope

Keeley Barnard, 51, of Hopkins Mead, Chelmsford appeared at Basildon Magistrates' Court today (August 22) charged with murder and spoke only to confirm her name, address and date of birth.

The victim, Margaret Sims, died at a house in Milton Road.

Paramedics contacted Essex Police shortly after midnight on Sunday (August 20) with reports that the woman, aged in her 70s, had stopped breathing.

A post-mortem investigation was held on Sunday, August 20, which revealed that the preliminary cause of death was compression of the neck.

Barnard will next appear in court tomorrow morning (August 23) at Chelmsford Crown Court.

She has been remanded in custody.

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