Mikaeel Kular mother appears in court on murder charge

Rosdeep Kular appeared in an Edinburgh court for the second time today

A police handout of three-year-old Mikaeel-Kular (Police Handout )

The mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular has appeared in court for a second time today charged with the boy's murder.

Rosdeep Kular has also been charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Mikaeel's body was discovered in Fife on Friday 17 January, the day after he was reported missing from his home in the Drylaw area of Edinburgh.

Kular, 33, was charged under her married name of Adekoya when she made her initial appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court the following Monday.

She made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody during the brief private hearing before Sheriff Frank Crowe.

Kular returned to the court this afternoon for a full committal hearing, which was also held privately.

She again made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody. No further court dates have yet been fixed.

Following Mikaeel's disappearance, Police Scotland issued his picture and appealed to the public for help in the search for him.

Mikaeel went missing from his home in Ferry Gait Crescent, Edinburgh, on Thursday 16 January, and more than 200 volunteers joined police and other agencies searching for the little boy.

His body was found shortly before midnight on Friday, in an area of woodland behind a house in Kirkcaldy, Fife where Ms Kular and her five children used to live.

The boy's mother was formally arrested and charged in connection with her son's death on Saturday 18 January.

Floral tributes, soft toys and candles were placed at a small park near his home.

Last Friday hundreds gathered on both banks of the Forth to release balloons and light candles in his memory.

Additional reporting by Press Association