Family handoutA date has been set for the trial of three children who have been accused of murdering a man in Kent.
A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, will face trial from 13 January 2026.
The teenagers, who cannot be named due to their age, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday.
Alexander Cashford, 49, from Kent, was pronounced dead at the scene in Leysdown-on-Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey, on Sunday, police said.
The attack is alleged to have involved a glass bottle and rocks being thrown, the court heard.
The prosecution said the cause of Mr Cashford’s death was currently inconclusive, as he seems to have suffered a “medical episode such as a cardiac arrest”.
The teenagers previously appeared at magistrates court on Wednesday where they spoke only to confirm their names, addresses and date of birth.
A plea and trial preparation date has been set for 6 November.
A 12-year-old girl was arrested in Basildon, Essex, on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and assisting offenders.
She has been bailed while investigations continue.
Meanwhile, the BBC has learned that Mr Cashford has previous convictions for stalking and driving offences.
He pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress at Medway Magistrates Court on 17 March.
The charge related to an incident earlier that month where he followed a young woman home from her work to her house in Gillingham.
He was sentenced to a one-month curfew, had to wear an electronic tag for six months and was banned from entering Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre.
The year before Mr Cashford pleaded guilty to three driving offences at Medway Magistrates Court.
They were using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance, failure to stop a vehicle when ordered to do so by a constable or traffic warden, and fraudulent use of a registration document.
