Man to face trial in October over death of woman pulled from River Derwent

A trial date has been set for a man charged with the murder of a woman who died after being rescued from a river in North Yorkshire.

Lisa Welford, 49, was pulled out of the River Derwent in Malton on the evening of 24 April and was taken by ambulance to hospital where she was later pronounced dead, North Yorkshire police said.

Vincent Morgan, 47, from Malton has been charged with her murder and a judge at Leeds crown court has set a preliminary trial date of 21 October.

In a statement released through police, the dead woman’s family paid tribute to her, saying: “Lisa was a wonderful daughter, mum, auntie, and little sister. She had many friends both locally and further afield and will be sadly missed by all. We are sincerely grateful and appreciative of all the ongoing support that we have received from the local community. We kindly request that the family’s privacy is respected at this difficult time.”

North Yorkshire police said that on the day after Welford’s death it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog. “We made the mandatory referral as per standard procedure,” a spokesperson said.

Morgan was remanded in custody at a court appearance on 30 April.