Six youths have denied murdering Spalding man Warren Free.
Two girls aged 15, two boys aged 15, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy all entered not guilty pleas during a 40-minute hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday.
They are all charged with the murder of Mr Free (42) on August 29 last year.
The 16-year-old boy and one of the 15-year-old boys also denied a charge of perverting the course of justice relating to a metal pole allegedly used during an assault on Mr Free.
Judge Michael Heath adjourned the case for trial at Lincoln Crown Court on June 15. The trial is expected to last six weeks.
Five of the defendants were granted bail in to the care of the local authority.
Mr Free was rushed to hospital from his home in Coronation Close on August 28 with a serious head injury. He was airlifted to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, but died in the early hours of the following day.
He was a father-of-two and had lived in Spalding for eight years.
