A TEENAGER has appeared in court charged with two murders.

The 16-year-old from Colchester, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is suspected of murdering James Attfield and Nahid Al-Manea.

He was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.

During the course of police interviews he was questioned in relation to the two murders and charged on Friday.

He appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday and at Chelmsford Crown Court today, via video link.

No charges were put to him.

He has been remanded into custody until July 13 for a plea and case management hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.

James Attfield was killed in March last year.

The 33-year-old, also known as Jim, was found on the Riverside Path in Colchester in the early hours of March 29, with more than 100 stab wounds to his body.

Nahid Almanea, a student at the University of Essex, was murdered on June 17 on the Salary Brook Trail in Colchester as she walked from her student accommodation in nearby Woodrow Way to the university complex in Wivenhoe.

The 31-year-old is believed to have been attacked at around 10.40am and died as a result of stab wounds.

Specialist police teams yesterday searched the Wivenhoe Trail, between Colchester and Wivenhoe, for murder weapons relating to both investigations.

A 40m section of the Colne and its banks were cordoned off after police received new information.

Police used metal detectors to comb the riverbank at low tide.

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.