A MAN has denied murdering a young American woman who was found stabbed to death at a home in Colchester.

Mary Wells, 21, suffered stab wounds to her neck and body in an attack at a property in Laing Road, Greenstead, in January.

Adam Butt, of Laing Road, was arrested and charged with murder.

A charge he denied during a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday.

21-year-old Butt, who spoke only to confirm his name and to deny one count of murder, is next expected to appear in court on August 6.

The case was adjourned to allow for further reports to be carried out.

Addressing Butt, Judge Patricia Lynch QC said: “That’s it for today.

“The court is grateful, thank you for attending, remanded in custody.”

An inquest at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court previously heard Ms Wells had come to the UK to see a man she had met online.

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Speaking at an inquest, assistant coroner Tina Harrington established a provisional cause of death as penetrating wounds to the neck and torso.

A fund-raising page was set up to help her grieving family with the process of transporting her body home.

On the page, Ms Wells was described as a person who was very kind, a type of person who “would give someone the shirt off her back.”

Ms Wells had been born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and lived in Dallastown, Philadelphia, where she graduated from high school.

The page set a target of raising £3,300 and reached the goal in just two days.

It said: “Mary was quiet and didn’t ask for much.

“She wasn’t the kind of person who likes to fight or argue.

“She was very shy.”

It added: “Mary had a tough couple of years.

“She lost her mum due to health problems and lost her grandmother, who took care of her after her mum died two years ago.”

In a tribute, her family described her as a “bright” woman who had graduated from Dallastown High School, in Pennsylvania.

They added: “Mary lost her mom a few years ago, but she had a goal to make her mom proud of her.

“She was looking to excel in life and will be loved and missed by all.”