A FORMER soldier accused of killing a West Somerset College teacher and his wife will stand trial for murder on June 6 next year, a case management hearing at Bristol Crown Court decided on Wednesday.

Collin Reeves, 34, is accused over the deaths of Stephen and Jennifer Chapple at their home in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, on the evening of November 21 while their two young sons slept upstairs. Reeves was said to be a next-door neighbour of the couple.

Mr Chapple, 36, had been a maths and IT teacher at the Minehead college since 2017. His 33-year-old wife worked at a local garden centre.

Reeves did not appear at Wednesday’s hearing when Adam Feest QC, prosecuting, told Judge Peter Blair QC that he did not expect the trial to last more than a week. A further case management hearing is scheduled for March 25.

More than £22,000 has been raised by a crowdfunding campaign to support the murder victims’ children and family.