Trainee lawyer Carl Langdell charged with Christmas Eve murder of teacher Katie Locke

Her body was found by police at the Theobalds Park Hotel in Waltham Cross

Carl Langdell has reportedly been charged with murdering a 23-year-old teacher at a Hertfordshire hotel on Christmas Eve (Facebook)

A trainee lawyer has reportedly been charged with murdering a 23-year-old teacher at a Hertfordshire hotel on Christmas Eve.

Carl Langdell, 26, who is a student at the BPP Law School in London and also set up his own firm, called Langdell Legal Associates, is accused of killing Katie Locke, a history and politics teacher at Cardinal Pole School in Hackney, east London, The Daily Telegraph and other newspapers reported.

Her body was found by police at the Theobalds Park Hotel in Waltham Cross on 24 December.

In a statement, her family said: “We are distraught, in shock and totally devastated. There was not a bad bone in Katie’s body.

“Katie worked hard and loved her job as a teacher. In what little spare time she had she enjoyed sports. We now feel like our future has been stolen from us.”

Mr Langdell previously studied at Surrey, Cardiff and Hertfordshire universities. According to social media, he was social secretary for Cardiff University's Athletics Union and captain of the golf team. Mr Langdell is also involved in a blog called Ordinary Decent Human, which publishes poetry and humanitarian appeals about issues such as female-genital mutilation.

He is due to appear at St Albans Crown Court on 8 January.