FOUR more people have made their first appearance at crown court in connection with the killing of Rhys Jones.

The four are all charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice during the investigation into the shooting of the 11-year-old boy.

Married couple Francis, 48, and Marie Yates, 50, both of Dodman Road; Janette Mercer, 49, of Good Shepherd Close; and James Hughes, 22, of Willow Way, all in Croxteth, all appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court.

The hearing was watched by Rhys’s parents, Melanie and Stephen, who were sat in the front row of the public gallery and were both wearing purple Liverpool Unite ribbons.

The four are all alleged to have attempted to derail the police investigation.

They spoke only to confirm their names during a hearing in front of the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe QC.

Anne Whyte, prosecuting, told the court the prosecution intend to hold their trials separately from seven other people who have already appeared in court in connection with the killing.

A 17-year-old youth – who cannot be named for legal reasons – who is charged with murder, and three men and three youths are due to stand trial on October 2.

The other six are also facing charges of perverting the course of justice after allegedly trying to help cover up the killing.

Miss Whyte said the four would face trials after that date – with Francis and Marie Yates’s cases heard together.

Their son James, 20, is involved in the first trial.

Mercer and Hughes will have separate trials.

Judge Globe ordered the four to return to court on October 2 to enter their pleas to the charges, but he warned them that date may change.

On June 30, the judge will hear applications from those representing the teenager facing murder charges to move the trial from Liverpool.

His defence team argue the level of publicity means the teenager would be unable to receive a fair trial.

Rhys was shot and killed as he walked home from football practice on August 22 last year.