Kickboxer denies murder of Real Housewives of Cheshire star's brother in Battersea shooting

A kickboxer has denied shooting dead the brother of a reality TV star on his own doorstep in Battersea just before Christmas.

Anis Fouad Hemissi, 23, allegedly gunned down record producer Flamur Beqiri as he returned home with his wife and young child on Christmas Eve last year.

The 36-year-old victim is the brother of Real Housewives of Cheshire star Misse Beqiri. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the attack and died at the scene in Battersea Church Road.

At the Old Bailey this morning, Hemissi appeared via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to enter not guilty pleas to murder and gun charges.

The Swedish national was arrested in January and extradited to the UK in June to face criminal proceedings, and was remanded in custody this morning by Judge Sarah Munro QC.

She set a provisional trial date for July 12 next year, with the case expected to last up to three weeks.

Mr Beqiri, whose sister is married to Danish football star Anders Lindegaard, married his wife Debora Krasniqi in Cernobbio, by Lake Como in Italy, in October 2018.

An article in Grace Ormonde Wedding Style magazine, which published photos of the occasion, revealed that the couple met through Facebook.

Ms Krasniqi told the magazine that the pair, initially just friends, “fell deeply in love” at his sister’s wedding after speaking for “endless hours over the phone”.

“There was always something special about our connection and bond,” she said.

Hemissi, who lives in Malmo, Sweden, pleaded not guilty to murder and possession of a firearm, namely a self-loading pistol.