Three teenagers accused of killing electrician on Isle of Sheppey will go on trial next year
Alexander Cashford, 49, was found dead with multiple serious injuries in Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey on Sunday.
A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 15 and 14, were charged with his murder on Tuesday.
On Thursday, a provisional trial date was set at Maidstone Crown Court for January 13 next year.
The three are charged with murder by joint venture after a 'violent assault' took place near the beach in Warden Bay.
Kent Police were called to the Warden Bay Road area shortly after 7pm on Sunday, after an altercation involving a small number of people.
Mr Cashford was confirmed dead at the scene, and police said multiple injuries to his body were reported.
A 16-year-old girl and two boys aged 14 and 15, all from London, were thought to have been on holiday in Kent at the time of the attack.
Some local residents witnessed the attack, and tried to provide CPR to Mr Cashford, the court heard.
The 16-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy appeared in court on Thursday morning and spoke only to confirm their names.The 15-year-old boy appeared by video link from a youth detention centre.
Family members of all three teenagers watched proceedings from the public gallery.
The attack is alleged to have involved a glass bottle and rocks being thrown, the court heard.
On Thursday, the prosecution said the cause of Mr Cashford's death is currently inconclusive as he seems to have suffered a 'medical episode such as a cardiac arrest could have been brought on by being chased and attacked'.
He was found with bruising to his 'lower ribs and stomach' along with an injury to his head, the court heard.
A 12-year-old girl, arrested on Tuesday in Basildon, Essex, in connection with the incident has been bailed.
The 16-year-old girl and the two boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been remanded into youth detention accommodation.
A plea and trial preparation date has been set for November 6.
Yesterday specialist officers brought a sniffer dog to the scene as they continue to search for evidence.
A police spaniel was seen sniffing around a small area with police tape set up around it.
The cordon was put up in a large clearing behind the beach in front of a caravan park.
They also covered some areas of the scrap land behind Warden Bay Beach.
Mr Cashford appeared in court earlier this year, accused of following a young woman home from work and visiting her house in the early hours of the morning, where he posted a chocolate bar and a letter through her door.
The daily Mail revealed that Mr Cashford, from Rainham, in Kent, visited the address in nearby Gillingham twice, first at 1.39am and then seven minutes later at 1.46am on March 9.
He admitted a charge of stalking involving serious alarm and distress at North Kent Magistrates' Court on March 17 and was placed on a month's curfew and fitted with a tag which was to remain in place until September 16.
Magistrates warned him to refrain from contacting the woman he followed, to keep away from her address and he was banned from the Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre in Gillingham.
The Daily Mail can also reveal that Mr Cashford, who worked as an electrician, was jailed for three years and four months in 2015 after stealing vehicle parts worth more than £63,000.
He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to nearly 200 offences relating to vehicle theft, money laundering and making off without payment
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