Almost two years after the quadruple murder of the Ding family in Wootton, the prime suspect, Anxiang Du, will appear before a court in Northampton charged with the killings.
Nobody in Northampton at the time of the murders needs reminding that this was an episode of violence unrivalled in living memory.
It has been a long, long road to reach this point in proceedings Firstly there were the well-documented problems in the very early stages of the police investigation and then, once Du was finally found in Morocco last summer, there began a long process to see him finally extradited to face trial.
To have got where we are now is in no small part down to the unceasing efforts of the team of detectives at Northamptonshire Police whose persistence in the wake of some extraordinary and, at times, highly frustrating setbacks has finally brought their suspect to trial.
It is not for us to comment further now the wheels of justice are in motion, but there will be a great deal of relief today - both at Wootton Hall and in Northampton in general - that the prime suspect has been successfully returned to Northampton.
What happens beyond this is in the hands of the British legal system and we await with interest to see what unfolds.
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