A 16-YEAR-old boy has been remanded into custody after appearing in court charged with the murder of a university lecturer.

Dr Barry Hounsome died of a head injury following an incident at his home in Southcroft Road, Gosport, Hampshire, on Monday.

Hampshire Police have said they are treating the death as an "isolated incident".

The 54-year-old was an academic who had carried out research into dementia and Parkinson's disease and had previously worked at Southampton and Bangor universities.

He lived at the property with his wife Natalia, who is originally from Russia and works at Brighton and Sussex Medical School as a senior lecturer in global health economics.

The teenage defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Portsmouth Youth Court for the short hearing, where he confirmed his name, age, nationality and address.

He was remanded into youth detention until his next appearance at Winchester Crown Court on Monday, November 5.

The chairwoman of the magistrates Ruth Dash told the defendant, who wore jeans and a hoodie for the hearing: "We have considered about remand and you are going to be remanded to youth detention accommodation until November 5 when you will be appearing at Winchester Crown Court."