BRITAIN: An inquest into the deaths of murdered Cambridgeshire schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, will open in Cambridge this afternoon.
The proceedings are likely to be brief, however, as police investigating the murder of the 10 year old best friends are expected to apply for an adjournment until their murder investigation is complete.
Det Chief Insp Andy Hebb of Cambridgeshire police, one of the officers leading the investigation, will give evidence on when Holly and Jessica went missing and when their bodies were found. The parents of the children will not attend.
A police spokeswoman said the inquests would open "for the purpose of formal identification only to enable funeral arrangements to take place".
She added, however, that the funerals were likely to be some time away yet as tests are continuing on the bodies of the children after an initial post mortem proved inconclusive. "The result of these tests are not expected for some weeks," she said.
Meanwhile, this weekend football clubs across Britain will hold one minute silence in advance of all games in memory of Holly and Jessica. All teams in the FA premiership, nationwide league, and supporting leagues will take part.
A football association spokesman said the whole nation had been shocked and saddened by the childrens deaths. "The girls' love of football is well known and everyone connected to the game is keen to pay their respects to Holly and Jessica and offer their condolences to their family and friends at this very sad time," he said.
A memorial service for the two children is also being planned in their home town of Soham but the curate of the parish church of St Andrew's, Reverend Brin Singleton said a date for it had not yet been agreed.
Yesterday police investigating the childrens' murder continued to examine the woodland where their bodies were found last Saturday. Searches for evidence at a number of other sites in the area, including the home of the grandmother of Mr Ian Huntley (28), the man accused of their murder.
Mr Huntley is being detained in a high security psychiatric hospital in Nottinghamshire while his girlfriend, Ms Maxine Carr (25), a former teaching assistant to Holly and Jessica has been remanded in custody charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. She is being detained at Hollaway women's prison in London where staff are said to be watching her closely to ensure she does not harm herself.
The girls' parents visited the wooded area close to Lakenheath air force base where the bodies were found last Saturday.
"It was at their request and I understand that the two couples visited separately," a police spokesman said.