THE defendants in the Aya Hachem murder trial have pleaded not guilty to killing her.

Feroz Suleman, 40, of Shear Brow, Blackburn; Kashif Manzoor, 26, of Shakeshaft Street, Blackburn; Judy Chapman, 26, of St Hubert’s Road, Great Harwood; Uthman Satia, 29, of St Hubert’s Road, Great Harwood; Abubakr Satia, 32, of Oxford Close, Blackburn; Ayaz Hussain, 35, of Calgary Avenue, Blackburn; Zamir Raja, 33, of Davyhulme Road, Stretford, Manchester and Anthony Ennis, 31, of Grasmere Court, Partington also all pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Pacha Khan.

On Tuesday afternoon, a jury made up of nine men and five women were selected to participate in the trial, which is expected to be opened on Thursday morning.

The case is being heard in court one at Preston Crown Court in front of The Honourable Mr Justice Mark Turner.

Aya Hachem was gunned down on King Street in Blackburn on May 17 2020 and died a short time later in hospital.

On Monday, a vigil was held on the one year anniversary of the aspiring law student’s death.

Her brother Ibrahim said: “I have never seen a human who was so pure. She made us believe she was an angel and that’s not just because she was my sister.”