A man accused of dismembering two women and dumping their bodies in canals will not stand trial until March 2011.
John Sweeney, 53, formerly of Skelmersdale, is charged with the murder of Merseyside mum-of-two Paula Fields, 31, from Halewood and 33-year-old American Melissa Halstead.
Ms Fields, a crack addict who moved to London to work as a prostitute, was found dead in Regent's Canal in Camden Town in February 2001.
Her remains were discovered in six holdalls by an angler missing the head and hands.
Sweeney is also charged with the murder of American Melissa Halstead, who was dumped in the Westersingel waterway in Rotterdam, in Netherlands, in 1990.
Packed in bags with the head and hands missing, her body was only officially identified 18 years later by Dutch police thanks to advances in DNA technology.
The 53-year-old was charged with both murders on April 27 but will not stand trial until next year following a short hearing at the Old Bailey yesterday (Monday).
Mr Justice Bean set his trial for March 1 and Sweeney, of no fixed abode, will return to court for a plea hearing on August 4.
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