In April, a man accused of murdering Sunderland schoolgirl Nikki Allan over 30 years ago will go on trial. Nikki was seven years old when she was found stabbed in the then-derelict Exchange Building on High Street East in October 1992, after going missing from her grandparents’ flat. When charged with murder last year, David Boyd, 54, of Chesterton Court in Norton, pleaded not guilty. Following a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, a trial date of April 19 has been set. Mr Boyd was remanded in custody after appearing in court via video link. The trial could last up to six weeks. When Nikki failed to return to her home in the same block as her grandparents, a search for her was launched. She’d been beaten severely and stabbed 37 times in the chest.
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