HERE’S your evening news round-up for the Black Country and north Worcestershire.

A DUDLEY man has been remanded in custody charged with the murder of popular footballer Ryan Passey who died after being stabbed at Chicago's nightspot in Stourbridge.

Kobe Murray, of The Broadway, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court via video link this morning (Thursday). 

The 19-year-old is accused of fatally stabbing 24-year-old Ryan from Stockwell Avenue, Quarry Bank, in the chest in the early hours of Sunday August 6.

Wearing a maroon sweater and speaking over the link from HMYOI Brinsford, he spoke only to confirm his name and that he understood the proceedings.

He did not enter a plea and Judge Philip Parker QC remanded him in custody until September 5 when he is next due before the court.

Read more here.

A FATHER-of-four was killed when he lost control of his car at a busy Kingswinford junction, an inquest heard.

James O’Brien, was almost three times over the drink drive limit when he crashed whilst trying to negotiate a bend on Stallings Lane on May 15.

Detective Sargent Paul Hughes told the inquest, held at the Black Country Coroners Court in Oldbury today (Thursday), that he believed Mr O'Brien intended to turn left into Ham Lane after overtaking a car.

However the speed he was travelling at, combined with a potentially damp carriageway, caused the vehicle to understeer.

The car flipped on its side after hitting the kerb and slid into a grassed area before crashing into a metal signpost.

He was treated by emergency services, including the air ambulance, but was pronounced dead at the scene.

Read the full story here.

THE mother of an Oldbury woman found dead in an apparant murder-suicide has describer her daughter as a perfect best friend.

Police have confirmed the identity of the two people found dead at their home in Pel Crescent after neighbours heard young children crying at the address.

Paul Lander, aged 30, and 26-year-old Rikki Lander were found dead in the property at around 2pm on August 5.

Rikki’s mother Sharon Cobain said: "Rikki was the perfect daughter and my best friend. She was born to be a mom and was the best there is.

"She could light up a room with her infectious smile. She loved to dance and sing especially with the children. We are lost for words."

Post mortem examinations have been carried out which revealed Paul Lander died as a result asphyxiation - consistent with hanging, however, the post mortem for his wife was inconclusive and further tests are required to establish a cause of death.

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A PSYCHIATRIC report has been ordered on a sex offender from Bromsgrove, who has been warned could face jail after breaching the terms of an order.

James White, 21, visited the house where a girl under 16 was living on November 26 and then stayed overnight, which was in breach of the terms of a five-year ban.

White, of Burcot Lane, had failed to comply with the order he was given by magistrates on August 23, 2012, on several previous occasions, Worcester Crown Court was told.

He pleaded guilty to the two breaches between November 26 and 27 last year, which took place while he was subject to a suspended sentence.

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COUNCIL chiefs in Wyre Forest have revealed they are reluctantly having to consult on redeveloping green belt land for housing as they say there are not enough brown field sites in the district.

Wyre Forest District Council is consulting on its draft Local Plan Preferred Options Document which sets out proposals for future development over the next two decades.

While the plans have drawn fierce criticism from residents worried about the loss of fields, the council says the amount of brown field and derelict buildings available will not cover demand up to 2034.

Leader Marcus Hart said: “I am very grateful for the engagement of local residents. These types of consultation are never easy when any potential decision taken is going to affect local residents."

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A HOLIDAYMAKER who claimed a hotel's poor hygiene and "under-cooked, pink chicken" gave her food poisoning has had a legal bid thrown out by a judge.

Marissa McLean alleged she fell sick with "nausea and diarrhoea" during an all-inclusive Thomas Cook holiday to Egypt's sun-soaked Sharm-el-Sheikh resort.

Bringing a claim for damages against the tour operator, Miss McLean, from Redditch, alleged she suffered illness because of "poor hygiene at the hotel" and "the way food was cooked and prepared".

But a court heard how during the period she was supposedly left "trotting back and forth to the toilet", she was posting on social media about being in "luxury".

In a damning conclusion, Judge Nadeem Khan said her evidence was "neither plausible or credible".

He formally ruled her claim "fundamentally dishonest", allowing the tour operator to recover the money it had spent fighting her dodgy claim.

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