A 7-ft tall Dutchman charged with the murder of 24-year-old Sarah Groves appeared in court today but did not enter a plea.

Richard De Wit, 43 is accused of stabbing Miss Groves 45 times with a 12 inch knife on a houseboat in Kashmir.

Despite having confessed to police, De Wit was silent during the hearing in Srinagar, Kashmir.

His defence lawyer appealed for an adjournment so a document could be translated into English.

De Wit, from Ridderkerk, Netherlands, was charged with the murder when he was found 45 miles from the scene.

He is believed to have fled in a small boat which capsized, forcing him to swim to shore. The accused was wearing wet clothes, without shoes and carrying a passport on the night of the murder.

Miss Groves, from Guernsey was found by the houseboat owner’s son in the early hours of the morning on April 6 after he heard screams coming from her cabin.

She had suffered 45 knife wounds, most on her fingers, hands and arms, indicating she had fought ferociously for her life.

De Wit arrived at the guesthouse three days before the killing, and was staying at the cabin next to Miss Groves.

They were the only two tourists staying on the boat. Miss Groves had been there with her 25-year-old boyfriend Saeed Ahmed Shoda since February.

A Kashmir police source claimed that De Wit had smoked a large quantity of cannabis and returned to his cabin on the night.

He reportedly became paranoid that Miss Groves was going to kill him, then forced his way into her room and allegedly killed her in a frenzied attack with a knife.

The Dutchman appeared in court with his lawyer, Indian Supreme Court Advocate, Shilpi Jain.

The request to have De Wit’s 100-page charge sheet translated from to Urdu to English means the hearing is adjourned until June 24.

The Deputy Inspector General of Kashmir Police, Ahfadul Mujtaba, said in April: ‘We put him in front of the magistrates today and we now have him in our custody for a further ten days.

‘He has confessed to killing the girl but at this time he is not giving any further detail.’

Police could not confirm whether Miss Groves was sexually assaulted before being murdered.

He is said to have confessed to killing her after smoking cannabis, triggering delusions that she was a Dutch spy.

Detectives are also probing claims that Miss Groves, a friend of Princess Beatrice, was conned out of money before her death.

De Wit is being held in the region’s central jail having received treatment in a government-run psychiatric hospital.

Miss Groves was born in Manchester in 1988, moving to Guernsey when she was four with her parents.

She and her older half-brothers, Ben, 26, and Tom, 31, grew up in a large manor house on the island.

Miss Groves was educated at two prestigious independent Catholic schools, first at Blanchelande College in Guernsey, then as a boarder at the £30,000-a-year St Mary’s College in Ascot, Berkshire.

She studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London before returning to Guernsey, having decided to become a fitness instructor.

After qualifying, she worked for two years at the five-star Old Government House Hotel, leaving last August after deciding to go travelling.

The hearing will continue on June 24.