Georgia Williams 'died from pressure to her neck', as Jamie Reynolds appears in court over her murder

Jamie Reynolds has yet to enter a plea to the 17-year-old's murder

Georgia Williams (PA)

A body discovered last week during the search for missing girl Georgia Williams has been formally identified as the missing teenager, as police reveal she died from 'pressure being applied to her neck' and a man appeared in court charged with her murder.

West Mercia police found the body in woodland near Wrexham on Friday, the same day Jamie Reynolds was charged.

Reynolds, 22, faced a Crown Court judge by video-link today. He has yet to enter a plea to the 17-year-old's murder and spoke only three times during a 10-minute hearing at Stafford Crown Court.

The defendant, of Avondale Road, Wellington, Shropshire, was remanded in custody to reappear at the same court on 6 September.

Reynolds, wearing a yellow top with a green collar, appeared from prison and spoke to give his name, acknowledge the judge, and confirm that he had understood the proceedings.

Sitting in front of a grey curtain, he kept his head slightly bowed for much of the hearing before Judge John Wait.

Georgia, whose parents were not in court, went missing from her home in Wellington on Sunday 26 May.

In a statement released by the force, Detective Superintendent Adrian McGee said: "I can now confirm that the body found in woodland near Wrexham on Friday afternoon has been formally identified as that of 17-year-old Georgia Williams.

"Although we are not in a position to release any further details for legal reasons, and out of respect for the Williams family at this terribly sad time, I am also able to confirm that Georgia died as a result of pressure being applied to her neck."

Renewing an appeal for information to trace missing items belonging to the teenager, Mr McGee added: "As I said yesterday, although the investigation has progressed quite quickly over the past few days, there is still a lot of work for us to do.

"We are continuing to look for the missing bag, make-up bag, mobile phone and clothing that belonged to Georgia and searches are still ongoing to locate this property.

"If anyone believes they still have information that could aid our investigation I would like to ask that they share it with us as soon as they can, even if they are unsure whether the information is related to this case."

Additional reporting by PA