A judge has postponed a trial of two people accused of murdering a woman in Shetland due to the continuing coronavirus crisis.
Lord Tyre said that proceedings against Ross MacDougall, 31, and Dawn Smith, 28, couldn’t advance due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During a short hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Tyre said: “The situation we find ourselves in, as has been said over and over again, is an unprecedented one.
“It is out with the court’s control for this to proceed to trial.”
The two accused appeared at a procedural hearing in the case at the High Court in Glasgow last November.
On that occasion, a legal document detailed the charges facing Mr MacDougall and Ms Smith.
The two allegedly murdered Ms Walker on July 30 last year at Ladies Drive in Lerwick, Shetland.
Prosecutors claim that 40-year-old Ms Walker suffered blunt force trauma “by means unknown”, had her neck compressed and was repeatedly struck with a knife.
Its also claimed that Mr MacDougall and Ms Smith tried to rob Ms Walker of money.
The duo are further accused of assaulting a man at the same location on the same day.
They are also accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice after the alleged killing.
The pair denied the allegations during the Glasgow hearing.
Another procedural hearing in the case will take place again at the High Court in Glasgow on July 15.