Stab accused held in mental unit

A woman accused of killing a grandmother in a knife attack on a busy street has been detained in a psychiatric hospital.

A woman accused of killing a grandmother in a knife attack on a busy street has been detained in a psychiatric hospital.

Nicola Edgington, 31, was not at the Old Bailey today for a technical bail hearing.

Jacob Hallam, for the Crown, told the judge: "She is currently in a secure ward."

Karen Sturman, for Edgington, made no bail application during the five-minute hearing.

Edgington, of Greenwich, south-east London, was formally remanded in custody after the prosecution objected to bail.

She is due to appear at a plea and case management hearing on January 17.

Edgington was charged with the murder of Sally Hodkin, 58, in Bexleyheath, south London, and the attempted murder of Kerry Clark, 23, on Monday.

Law firm accounts manager Mrs Hodkin was stabbed in the neck with a butcher's knife in an apparently random attack, following an attack on Ms Clark.

Her family spoke of their grief and said their world had been "turned upside down" by her death.

A statement said: "As a family we are totally devastated by the tragic events of Monday and our world has been turned upside down.

"Sally was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother."

PA