TWO men charged with the murder of Kerry Reeves in Abingdon appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning.

At the same time Thames Valley Police officers with sniffer dogs searched a cordoned-off area of woodland next to Boxhill recreation ground in Abingdon as the investigation continued.

Miss Reeves, 26, from Abingdon, was shot on Tuesday, November 3, in Thornhill Walk, Abingdon, and died two days later at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Billy Johnson, 20, of Ripon Court, Corby, Northamptonshire, and Charles Noble, 20, of Kempton Avenue, Northolt, Ealing, London, appeared at the magistrates’ court just before 11am.

Both men, who were wearing grey tracksuits, spoke only to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.

They were remanded in custody and are due to appear at Oxford Crown Court on Monday.

Detectives charged Johnson and Noble with the murder of Miss Reeves on Wednesday night.

One 67-year-old woman from Abingdon, who asked not to be named, saw officers searching the woods.

She said: “Abingdon is normally such a quiet town – it’s hard to believe this poor woman was shot.”

A post mortem examination found the preliminary cause of Miss Reeves’ death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Floral tributes have been left at the scene and tributes have been posted on Facebook.