A MAN appeared in court accused of the murder of Wrexham man Paul Groom.

Michael Hill, of Oakdale Close, Kirkby, was remanded in custody at Liverpool Crown Court charged with killing the 48-year-old.

Mr Groom died in hospital on Saturday, December 10 after suffering head injuries following a suspected assault a few days previously.

He was treated by paramedics at his home on Longmoor Lane, Fazakerley, in the early hours of the morning after a friend, who was concerned about his condition, dialled 999.

Despite being taken to hospital, Mr Groom died later that evening around 10pm.

The dead man had attended a gathering at a house in Stanton Crescent in Kirkby in the early hours of Thursday, December 8, where it is thought he was assaulted.

A Home Office post mortem examination established the preliminary cause of death as being blunt force trauma to the head.

Hill, 32, did not enter a formal plea or apply for bail and was remanded in custody by the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Clement Goldstone, QC.

His defence counsel, Charles Lander, indicated his client would deny the murder charge.

Hill, with short, dark hair and a black beard, winked and smiled at a group of people in the public gallery as he sat in the dock and spoke only to confirm his identity

He will next appear in court, via a video link, on March 10, 2017, for a plea and trial preparation hearing with a trial date set for June 12 next year.