'Strong denial' over Swansea Quadrant Centre death
Aaron Charles Bishop died on July 30 last year, after an alleged incident at the Swansea Quadrant shopping centre.
Sam Joshua Bawden, of Leonard Street, Neath, faced one charge of unlawfully killing Mr Bishop, when he appeared before city magistrates yesterday.
The 25-year-old, dressed in a dark suit, spoke only to confirm his name, age and address.
Mark Davies, defending, said Bawden would be entering a not guilty plea at Crown Court.
"This is an extremely firm not guilty plea and can be lodged in the court record," he said.
Last year, the Evening Post reported that Mr Bishop, aged 23, became unwell and collapsed following the alleged incident on a walkway leading from the first floor of the Quadrant onto level six of the neighbouring multi-storey car park.
The former Welsh Guardsman was attended to at the scene by paramedics. He was taken to Morriston Hospital, but was later pronounced dead by doctors.
Bawden was arrested following the incident and released on bail while officers investigated the sudden death. Mr Bishop served for four years in the Army, including deployments to Belize, Iraq, Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone.
He also took part in the Trooping of the Colour ceremony in London, and stood guard at Windsor Castle.
After leaving the Guards, he worked in telesales and customer services jobs for a number of companies including Virgin Media, BPI Industrial and the Evening Post. He played rugby for Pontyberem RFC.
Bawden, who was released on unconditional bail, will appear for a preliminary hearing at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday, February 16.
juliabosnyak@swwmedia.co.uk
