No date has yet been set for the trial of the man accused of murdering Perthshire pensioner Jenny Methven.
After it emerged Mrs Methven will be buried in a private funeral following the release of her body by Tayside Police, the Crown Office said it could be months before Blairgowrie handyman William Kean returns to court.
Kean was remanded following a brief appearance on petition at Perth Sheriff Court on March 30. The 46-year-old was accused of murdering Mrs Methven by repeatedly hitting her with a blunt instrument.
He made no plea or declaration at that time and the case was continued for further examination.
The Crown Office said no dates for future court appearances have been set.
80-year-old Mrs Methven was found dead in her Kildinny Farm Cottage near Forteviot on February 20.
Very few details of her funeral have been released and it is expected to be a very private affair, with a burial at Forteviot Parish Church, where Mrs Methven’s late husband, Andrew, was also laid to rest.
Rev Bruce Thomson, the interim minister for the Stewarty of Strathearn, is likely to lead the service.
Jenny had been a familiar figure in the Strath and was described by locals as a ”pillar of the community.”
A former Forgandenny WRI president and pivotal figure in village life, she lived with her businessman son, David Methven.
Services were held in her honour shortly after her death, including a specially arranged celebration of her life at Forteviot Church, just yards from her home.
One local said: ”It will be a private funeral because that fits with recent events. But if it wasn’t private, it would have been huge a lot of people would have been there. She was a well-loved friend to many.”