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A MAN has been charged with the murder of a Birmingham woman 35 years ago.

Mum-of-two Nova Welsh, aged 24, was found dead in a utility cupboard at flats in Lighthorne Avenue, Birmingham, on August 18, 1981.

A post mortem revealed she died from pressure to the neck.

Osmond Bell, aged 59, from Handsworth, will appear before Birmingham Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning, police said.

Close pal and neighbour Lorna Edwards was the last person to see Miss Welsh.

In an account to the police at the time, Lorna said the last time she had seen her close friend was about a month before her body was discovered.

She said: “She was so happy, she didn’t seem depressed or anything like that. We were laughing and talking as we normally did.

“She said I needn’t look after the children that night as she was going out and was going to take them to their father’s.”

Lorna did not hear from Miss Welsh again despite phoning her repeatedly.

She became especially alarmed when she noticed her neighbour’s washing still hanging out on the line, which was a trigger for her to call the police.

Friends and family members described her as “a happy girl although she did get occasionally depressed,” and as “a quiet person everyone seemed to like”.

Birmingham Coroner Richard Whittington ruled at the time that Miss Welsh had been killed unlawfully.

But there were no further arrests and her killer remained at large.