Prosecutors in Finland have formally pressed murder charges against a man accused of killing a young Fife woman last December.
Radek Kovac, 36, who also goes by the name Karel Frybl, will stand trial later this month in connection with the death of Rebecca Johnson at her flat in Kuttanen, Finland, on December 3.
The well-loved 26-year-old, who had been working as a Santa Safari tour guide in Lapland, had been stabbed to death.
At a court hearing on Wednesday, chief prosecutor Juhani Mäki pressed homicide charges against Kovac ahead of a main trial hearing which will take place at Lapland District Court in the town of Rovaniemi.
A spokesperson for the Lapland Police Department also confirmed that previously set trial dates of August 23 and 24 were now “official” after Wednesday’s proceedings, with trial documents to remain classified until the case is heard.
Kovac, who is originally from the Czech Republic, had lived in Scotland with Ms Johnson before they travelled to Finland to find work.
A manhunt was launched after the body of Ms Johnson was discovered, and Kovac was subsequently detained after fleeing from authorities who used a helicopter and dogs to track him down in the frozen wilderness.
Ms Johnson’s funeral took place at Dunfermline Crematorium in January and friends and family were asked to wear either purple or animal prints in her memory.
