A trial date has finally been set for the man who is accused of murdering Australian national Brian Johnston.

He is 38-year-old Adrian Forrester, of Montego Bay, St James, whose trial will begin on April 7. He has been in custody since he was arrested and charged in September 2006.

Johnson's body was found in a room at the Gloucestershire Hotel on Montego Bay's Hip Strip in August 2006.

Forrester's case was set for mention last week Monday for a trial date to be set. When the case was mentioned in the St James Circuit Court, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dianne Gordon-Harrison said the matter could not be accommodated as a four-accused murder trial was still in progress in that court.

Forrester's attorney, Sheron Barnes, seized the opportunity to again apply for bail for her client. After hearing the allegations, including the presence of Forrester's DNA in the deceased's hotel room, Mr Justice Lloyd Hibbert turned down the bail application.