A HAMPSHIRE man will stand trial today charged with the murder of Saints steward Paula Poolton.

Roger Kearney, 56, of Painswick Close, Park Gate, will appear at Winchester Crown Court this morning for the start of the three-week murder trial.

Kearney denies killing 40-year-old Paula, of Course Park Crescent, Titchfield, who was found stabbed to death in the boot of her Peugeot 206, 11 days after going missing in October 2008.

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Beat officers discovered her car, just yards away from Swanwick railway station, in Duncan Road, Park Gate, on October 28, 2008.

More than 60 officers have been working on the case, which saw specialist forensic teams spend two days meticulously searching the car, road and surrounding woodland.

Paula had last been seen on CCTV, shopping at Tesco in Bursledon on October 17.

Paula was best known for her love of Southampton Football Club, where she had been a steward for eight years and met her husband of four years, Ricky.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Echo, Ricky, spoke of how “unique” Paula was. He added: “Paula was Paula, there is no one else like her.”

Friends and family packed into St Leonard’s Church, Bursledon, for her funeral, where they remembered her time as a student at Hamble school and then at Itchen College, and her job as a secretary and receptionist at Ordnance Survey Southampton.

Her loss was felt by everyone at the football club, with flags flying at half-mast at St Mary’s Stadium and players and fans joining in a minute’s silence to remember her before one of their home matches.

Her parents, Jennifer and Phillip Cross, described her as a “crazy chick with an infectious laugh”.