Man accused of Chhokar murder to stand trial

Ronnie Coulter from Wishaw has denied accusations that he killed the 32-year old waiter with a knife in Overtown, North Lanarkshire, while acting with two other men.

Prosecutors claim that Andrew Coulter and David Montgomery were also involved in a brutal assault that allegedly saw Mr Chhokar hit with a wooden baton and then repeatedly struck with a knife.

Mr Coulter is also facing accusations that he attempted to defeat the ends of justice by asking someone to hide clothes and knives used in the alleged murder.

At the High Court, Lord Burns set the trial start date for 1 February 2016.

Mr Coulter was not present but had been excused at a previous hearing.

Proceedings are expected to last around five weeks, though Mr Coulter’s advocate, Donald Findlay QC, has said there may need to be breaks in the trial due to the defendant’s “significant memory and concentration problems”.