Man appears in court for perverting course of justice

Neal Stacey, from Waverley Road, in Southsea, was at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

He was charged with perverting the course of justice between December 31 and January 1 after being arrested by police last week.

The 48-year-old, dressed in grey tracksuit bottoms and a grey top, spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth.

District Judge Anne Arnold told Stacey he would be remanded in custody until his next hearing at Winchester Crown Court on February 10.

As previously reported in The News, the body of 27-year-old Mr Butler was found in a house in Waverley Road in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

So far, five people have been arrested in connection with the case.

Brendon Willis, of Waverley Road, has been charged with murder.

He appeared at Winchester Crown Court last week and was remanded in custody.

A 41-year-old man, from Southsea, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday, January 7 and has been released on police bail.

Separately, a 23-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, who were also arrested on suspicion of murder on January 2, have been bailed until February 17.

A 29-year-old man held on suspicion of assisting an offender was released without action by officers over the weekend.

A police spokesman said: ‘Officers are continuing to carry out enquiries at addresses in the Waverley Road area of Southsea.

‘We are speaking to members of the community to keep them informed about these activities.

‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank those people who have provided information to assist our enquiries already.’

Anyone with information is asked to call the Operation Turtle investigation team in confidence on 101.

If you don’t want to speak to the police directly, you can call the anonymous Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.