A date has been set for the trial of a 17-year-old boy charged with murdering Ipswich man Daniel Saunders.

The teenager from Bury St Edmunds, who cannot be named, appeared before magistrates yesterday morning before another hearing at Ipswich Crown Court.

He was remanded in youth custody by Judge Martyn Levett until a plea and case management hearing on April 12 – with a provisional date for trial, lasting up to five weeks, starting July 8.

Meanwhile, no further action will be taken against three people arrested in connection with the incident on Sunday, December 16.

The two men, aged 44 and 39, and a woman aged 31 were let go after answering bail on Friday.

Police were called to Turin Street just after 1.50pm on Sunday, December 16, to reports of a man having been stabbed.

Daniel Saunders, 32, originally from Surrey, died at the scene.

A post-mortem exam concluded the cause of death was from a single stab wound to the abdomen.

The 17-year-old boy was arrested on Wednesday and questioned before being charged with murder.

He had previously been arrested in the Clacton area on December 20, and released on bail.

The teen is also charged with possession of a bladed article, a machete, without good reason or lawful authority, in a public place, St Osyth, on December 20.

He spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth at Ipswich Crown Court, where Judge Levett told him: “This case will next be heard on April 12, when you will be expected to enter a plea.”

Three other teenagers remain on bail or under investigation. They are an 18-year-old man, from Colchester, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and bailed until January 18, and a 17-year-old boy, from the Colchester area, and 15-year-old boy from Bury St Edmunds, also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and released under investigation.

Detectives continue to appeal for witnesses, including anyone with dash-cam footage from the area at the time. They also want to trace a woman in her 30s or 40s, with a local accent and driving a people carrier with a sliding door, who stopped at the scene and assisted Mr Saunders.

Information can be uploaded at mipp.police.uk/operation/363718M87-PO1 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.