By 
THE family of the late, Stephen Holmes were said to be ‘annoyed’ and ‘disappointed’ after a mix-up within the courts service resulted in a preliminary enquiry (PE) being postponed.
Dylan McCrossan (32) of Beechmount Village, Strabane is accused of murdering Stephen Holmes on February 8, 2025. McCrossan is also charged with possession of pregabalin and cocaine on February 3 of the same year.
A PE – a formal hearing at the end of legal proceedings before a case is sent before a Crown Court for trial – had been due to take place at Strabane Magistrates Court this morning (Thursday).
However, when appearing on behalf of his client Dylan McCrossan, defence counsel Aaron Thompson asked for a deferment.
He explained that his solicitors, Madden and Finucane had only received the ‘papers’ relating to the prosecution’s case on Friday past.
He also claimed that his solicitor had already conveyed to the court that the PE could not take place as the defence required more time to review the case. He noted that the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) had taken a year to make the case against McCrossan.
District Judge Alana McSorley remarked that she was “less than impressed by the handling of this matter.” She said that both she and Mr Holmes’s family had anticipated that the PE would take place today and had not been told otherwise.
A large number of Mr Holmes’s family members were present in court.
“I was informed by the PPS on February 12 that it was on track for the PE,” Judge McSorley said.
She went on to say that she wanted to have a “full explanation” as to when the documents were served and to whom and why the PE could not proceed – and why this was not communicated to the family.
“Something has happened somewhere down the line,” she said.
Mr Thompson offered an apology to both the court and the Holmes family but emphasised that, after receiving the papers on Friday, less than a week was not a sufficient amount of time to fully consider the case.
He said, “It’s a very grave and serious matter… and we will be push as hard as we can to progress the matter.”
The court also heart that the Holmes family were expressing their annoyance and disappointment at this turn of events.
After much discussion, the new date for the PE was set for April 16.
