A 22 YEAR-old man is appearing in court this morning after being formally charged with the murder of Halesowen schoolgirl Christina Edkins.
 

Phillip Simelane is due to appear at Birmingham Crown Court at 9.45am.

The man, from Walsall, is accused of fatally stabbing 16-year-old Christina on the number 9 bus on Birmingham's Hagley Road just after 7.30am on Thursday, March 7, as she made her way to Leasowes High School.

Police confirmed that the authority to charge Simelane was granted by the Crown Prosecution Service on Tuesday.
 

The charges were formally put to him at 9am this morning, after he was taken back into police custody from a secure unit, where his mental state was being assessed by medical experts.