A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of his second cousin, after being extradited from Denmark.

John Boy Ward appeared in custody on Friday afternoon for his first hearing at Luton Crown Court. He is expected to enter a plea at a case management hearing at the court in May.

The 33-year-old was arrested by police last month near to the Danish capital of Copenhagen following the death of 21-year-old Thomas Ward, who was fatally shot in the chest at a caravan site in Dyes Lane, Stevenage, on April 23 of last year.

Thomas was taken to Lister Hospital in Stevenage where he died – five days after the birth of his first child, Lilly.

An appeal to trace John Boy Ward, whose last known address was Clarkson Court in Hatfield. was launched on BBC’s Crimewatch last year alongside his wife Jolene Josie Ward.