Man to stand trial next June for murder of couple while children slept upstairs

Collin Reeves is accused of killing Stephen and Jennifer Chapple at their home in November.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Collin Reeves (left), in the dock at Taunton Magistrates’ Court (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (PA Wire)

A 34-year-old man accused of killing a young married couple in their Somerset home while their children slept upstairs will stand trial for murder in June next year.

Collin Reeves, 34, is accused of fatally attacking Stephen and Jennifer Chapple, who were both in their 30s, at their home in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, on the evening of November 21.

Reeves, also of Dragon Rise, did not appear at a case management hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday.

Judge Peter Blair QC provisionally listed the trial for June 6 next year.

Adam Feest QC, prosecuting, said he did not expect it to last more than a week.

A further case management hearing is scheduled for March 25.