A FATHER and his two brothers have denied killing his teenage daughter in Woodford Green, as one of the area's highest-profile trials in recent years gets underway.

Mehmet Goren, 48, is accused along with uncles Cuman Goren, 41, and Ali Goren, 55, of murdering 15-year-old Tulay Goren and attempting to kill her boyfriend Halil Unal.

The trial, being heard at the Old Bailey, is expected to last a minimum of six weeks, and is being closely followed by the national news media.

Tulay, a Woodbridge High School student, has not been seen since disappearing from her family home in Glastonbury Avenue, Woodford Green, in January 1999.

Proceedings formally began on Monday at the Old Bailey in central London, but the jury for the case was only sworn in this afternoon after a series of delays.

Judge Mr Justice Bean said the slow start had been due to “on-going preparations” for the case.

After being sworn in, Justice Bean apologised for the slow start, but promised that the reasons for the delays “should mean matters run smoothly when matters do get underway.”

It also emerged at today's hearing that Mehmet, of Navestock Crescent in Woodford Green, Cuma, of Evesham Avenue in Walthamstow, and Ali, of Brettenham Road in Walthamstow, have all formally pleaded not guilty to both charges.

In the court indictment, the trio are accused of murdering Tulay on January 7, 1999, as well as conspiring to murder Halil Unal between May 31, 1998, and February 1, 1999.

The arrest of the three men last November sent shockwaves through the community, with Tulay's disappearance still fresh in the memory of neighbours living in Glastonbury Avenue, despite the long history of the case.

The first open court proceedings in the case are expected to begin on Thursday morning.