The estranged boyfriend of young mother Shakeya DeRoza has been charged with her murder.

Jermaine Wellington Pearman, 36, of no fixed address, was brought to Magistrates' Court amid tight security yesterday morning.

He was charged with the premeditated murder of Ms DeRoza, 23, on Friday. He was further charged with possessing a knife with a seven-inch blade on the Railway Trail in Sandy's.

Pearman is the father of Ms DeRoza's two young children. She collapsed and died in front of Rose's Flower Shop in Middle Road, Sandy's on Friday afternoon.

Later that afternoon, Police apprehended Pearman along the Railway Trail behind Somerset Bridge Post Office. He was admitted to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital ICU after inflicting an injury on himself.

Police have refused to state how Pearman harmed himself, but he appeared in court yesterday with a large bandage across his throat. Dressed in a grey pinstripe suit, he entered court with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Flanked by several Police officers, Pearman sat looking sombre and occasionally glancing around the packed courtroom until standing for the charges to be read to him by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.

Mr. Warner told him the charges are indictable which means they must be dealt with by the Supreme Court and the defendant did not utter a word during the brief hearing.

He must return to court on July 29 and was remanded into custody until then. Police officers closed off Reid Street for a short time to allow Pearman to be driven away from court in a Police car.

Numerous relatives of Ms DeRoza and around 15 Police officers packed the small courtroom for the hearing. Several women broke down in tears and comforted each other, causing the rest of the morning's business to be halted until they gathered their composure and left.

Senior Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney is prosecuting the case, and defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher represents Pearman.