A man charged with the 2010 murder of Christchurch mum Alexsis Maria Tovizi has pleaded not guilty at the start of his High Court trial today.
A jury of eight women and four men was empanelled this morning at the High Court in Christchurch for the trial of Nikki Roper, 24, accused of murdering 21-year-old Ms Tovizi.
The mother of a three-year-old boy, who was staying with his great-grandmother at the time, was found dead at her Stanmore Rd home on December 9, 2010.
Roper, an unemployed man from Sockburn, was charged by police in February 2011 and has been in custody ever since.
He is charged with killing Ms Tovizi between December 5 and 9, 2010, dishonestly taking her car and laptop computer, and dishonestly using a bank card.
