THE man accused of murdering schoolgirl Elaine Doyle more than 27 years ago will stand trial next month.

John Docherty, 49, denies killing the 16-year-old on June 2, 1986 in Greenock.

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Times, he is accused of strangling Elaine in a lane near her home in Ardgowan Street.

Docherty made his first public appearance at the High Court in Glasgow before Lord Bannatyne.

The accused wore dark trousers and a dark jacket. He will now face trial on March 25 at the High Court in Edinburgh. The case could last up to eight weeks.

Judge Lord Bannatyne fixed a further preliminary hearing in the case for February 24 in at the High Court in Edinburgh. Docherty is accused of seizing Elaine by the hair, striking her on the head and struggling with her.

He is also accused of removing or compelling her to remove her clothing, forcing her to the ground, pushing her face into the ground, sitting or kneeling on top of her, placing a ligature around her neck and strangling her.

Docherty, whose defence QC is Donald Findlay, is also facing a charge of stealing a hand bag and its contents from Ardgowan Lane on the same day. He also faces a third charge of assaulting a woman - between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1995 - at two addresses in Greenock.

Docherty is accused of injuring the woman by seizing her by the arms and neck, pushing her on her body, struggling with her, seizing her by the hair and punching her on the head.

Docherty denies all charges. His QC entered not guilty pleas to the charges and also lodged special defences of alibi and incrimination.

Elaine died on her way home from a disco in 1986.

Her body was later found in a lane off the town's Ardgowan Street.

The indictment served against Docherty is the first following an investigation by the Cold Case Unit set up by the Crown Office in 2011.