Aristocratic body-part artist Anthony-Noel Kelly will not be looking forward to Christmas. On December 11 he and colleague Neil Lindsay are due in court to answer to the charge that he nicked a few dead 'uns for his brilliant but misunderstood work. The Crown Prosecution Service this week said the defence team has been granted its call for an "old-style committal".
This means the case will first be tried in a magistrates court rather than in a crown court with a jury. The defence does not believe there is enough evidence to have the case heard before a jury and wants magistrates to decide whether the case should proceed to a crown court. A high point of the prosecution case could be a list of organic material removed from Kelly's home.