Jolanta Kalinowska, 41, of Cavendish Avenue, Ealing, west London, is accused of killing Thea Zaudy, of Notting Hill, London.

Kalinowska's son, 23-year-old Adrian Ryszard Laz, and his girlfriend Monika Sienkiewicz, 19, both of the same Ealing address, also appeared before magistrates in Oxford charged with assisting the alleged murderer.

They were also remanded in custody to appear at Oxford Crown Court on July 27.

Police found Mrs Zaudy's charred remains on Friday, July 13 next to a suitcase, thought to have been used to transport the body, at Milton Common, near Thame in Oxfordshire.

Mrs Zaudy's relatives, who live abroad, said in a statement on Friday: "Thea fled Germany in 1939 and came to Britain where she met and married her husband, Karl.

"She helped him run a carpet shop which she continued to run by herself after his death.

"She then worked for another 13 years at a large department store in London, finally retiring at the age of 74."