Jury dismissed again in Damien Heagney murder trial

The jury in a trial of a man charged with the murder of Cookstown man Damien Heagney was discharged today.

Following two weeks of evidence, a legal issue arose which prompted Mr Justice Fowler to discharge the 12 members of the jury.

This is the second time the murder trial has been halted at Belfast Crown Court.

Mr Heagney, 47, was last seen alive at the end of December 2021.

He was reported missing in July 2022 and the following month his partially dismembered remains were recovered from the Cappagh reservoir in Co Tyrone.

Stephen McCourt, 41, from Riverview in Augher, has been charged with, and has denied, murdering Mr Heagney on a date unknown between December 29, 2021 and January 7, 2022.

During the two weeks of evidence, scores of witnesses were called to give evidence.

This included a diver who recovered two packages containing body parts from the reservoir on August 10, 2022 and a pathologist who carried out a post mortem on the remains.

Whilst at an advanced stage, the Crown had not concluded its case when the legal issue arose.

As a result, the seven men and five women of the jury were addressed by Mr Justice Fowler who told them: “I have been trying very hard to resolve a legal and practical difficulty that has arisen in the case.

“Unfortunately that has not as yet been resolved and will not be resolved within a reasonable timeframe – and accordingly I am going to have to discharge you from sitting further on this jury trial.”

Offering his apologies, Mr Justice Fowler added: “The matters that are outstanding are important and vital to the fairness of the trial and I simply cannot proceed with the trial at this stage.”

The judge thanked the jury for the “attention” and “diligence” they paid to what he described as a “difficult case to listen to” and said they would not have to sit on another jury for the next ten years.

Before they left court, Mr Justice Fowler concluded by saying “have a good Christmas.”

This is the second time a jury presiding in the case has been discharged.

Last month, three days of evidence was heard at Belfast Crown Court before an unrelated legal issue arose which resulted in similar action being taken by Mr Justice Fowler.