THE trial of three men accused of murdering millionaire Amarjit Chohan and four members of his family is due to begin at the Old Bailey on Monday November 1.

Kenneth Regan, 54, from Wilton, Wilts, accountant William Horncy, 51, of Adeline Road, Bournemouth, and Peter Rees, 38, of Rowlands Castle, Hants, are jointly charged with five counts of murder between February 12 and April 28 last year.

The trial will begin with legal argument and the jury is expected to be sworn in on Thursday November 4.

The body of 46-year-old businessman Mr Chohan, of Sutton Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, was discovered by a canoeist near Bournemouth Pier on April 22, 2003. The body of his wife Nancy, 25, was later found in Poole Bay.

Their sons, three-month-old Ravinder and 18-month-old Devinder, are still missing.

The body of Mrs Chohan's mother, Charanjit Kaur, 51, was washed up on a beach on the Isle of Wight in November last year.

Mr Chohan, whose business, CIBA Freight, has an annual turnover of £4.5 million, was last seen on February 16 last year, in Salisbury.

The trial is expected to last two to three months.

First published: October 30