premeditated murder of his estranged wife Rochelle Marcia West.

West, of Mullet Bay Road, St. George's, showed no emotion as the charge was read out by the Wor. Cheryl Ann Mapp.

Crown Counsel Mr. Brian Calhoun said he was opposing bail. And West's lawyer Miss Patricia Harvey made no bail application.

Ms Mapp remanded 26-year-old West in custody until his next court appearance on January 24.

If convicted, West, who was not asked to plead, could face the death penalty.

Mr. Calhoun later explained to The Royal Gazette premeditated unlawful killing -- the charge read out by Ms Mapp -- was the same as premeditated murder.

"There is no difference under the law,'' he said.

Rochelle West was stabbed to death last Thursday at the Chamber of Commerce's Hamilton office, where she was a receptionist.

Magistrates' Court was packed yesterday for her estranged husband's three-minute hearing.

Clad in dark pants and a blue track suit top, West stood before Ms Mapp with his hands clenched, flanked by Ms Harvey and a Policeman.

The gallery virtually emptied as West left the court through a side entrance, escorted by plain-clothed and uniformed officers.

Traffic in the area was stopped while West was driven off in the same unmarked Police car he had arrived in.

When he arrived, West, wearing a blue windbreaker, was slipped into the court by CID officers through a side entrance.

In an apparent attempt to wrongfoot the Press, Police presence outside the front entrance was heavy.

After he left the court, West was wearing a different top with his head covered by a hood.

Meanwhile, Ms Harvey has sought to scotch reports that suggested West had been served with divorce papers by his late wife.

She told The Royal Gazette that that it was her client who had petitioned Mrs.

West for a divorce.

"I can state quite categorically that it was Mr. West who filed an application for permission to seek an early divorce from his wife,'' said Miss Harvey of Vaucrosson's.

She added the application was filed on December 14, was issued and served to Mrs. West on December 19 and was returnable to the Supreme Court by January 5.

"I can also confirm,'' Miss Harvey said, "that I accompanied Mr. West to court on Thursday and that nothing out of the ordinary happened.'' On Saturday, The Royal Gazette reported that West had appeared at a private hearing before Chief Justice the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward on the morning of his wife's death.

Miss Harvey confirmed yesterday that Mrs. West's lawyer, Ms Karen Williams-Smith of Mello, Hollis, Jones and Martin, was also present at the meeting.

Ms Williams-Smith has declined to answer questions on the nature of her client's case.

Mrs. West, who lived on Cocoa Lane, St. David's, was interred at the Chapel of Ease Cemetary yesterday.

In lieu of flowers, mourners were asked to send donations to the Physical Abuse Centre.