Blood matching that of Cookstown man Damien Heagney was located in the Co Tyrone flat of the man accused of his murder, a court has been told.
As the Crown case against 41-year old Stephen McCourt was opened at Belfast Crown Court, a prosecuting barrister said that the accused was also seen “loading a carpet” bearing a “dark stain” into the back of his white van.
Mr Heagney (47) was last seen alive at the end of December 2021. He was reported missing in July 2022 and on August 10, 2022 his dismembered remains were located at Cappagh reservoir in Co Tyrone.
McCourt, 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.
Setting out the background to the case, Crown barrister Gary McHugh KC said concerns were raised in July 2022 by staff at a pharmacy who noticed that Mr Heagney has stopped picking up his prescription.
Mr McHugh said the following month the reservoir at Cappagh was searched and “partial human remains” were located.
He said the last known movements of Mr Heagney were at the end of December 2021.
After experiencing trouble with his BMW, Mr Heagney contacted a vehicle breakdown company on December 30/31 and both he and his vehicle were dropped off close to McGartland Terrace in Dromore where he was “met by a man.”
In December 2021, McCourt was living in a first floor flat at McGartland Terrace and following the discovered in the reservoir in August, police searched his property.
Forensic samples including a swab from a smear of blood located on a bedroom doorframe were taken from the flat and analysed.
Mr McHugh told the jury: “This sample of blood, we say, matched with Mr Heagney and you will hear expert evidence about that.”
He also said evidence would be heard from a witness who saw a resident of a flat at McGartland Terrace - whom the Crown say was McCourt “loading a carpet” into the rear of a white van.
This witness was five feet from the incident and also recalled observing a “big dark stain” on the carpet.
Another witness due to give evidence at the trial was called by McCourt in January 2022 and asked to recover and tow away a white Citreon Berlingo van which had become stuck beside Cappagh reservoir.
Regarding the discovered of Mr Heagney’s dismembered remains on August 10, 2022, the following day a property linked to McCourt in Dungannon was searched by police who found a pair of bolt cutters in a shed.
A piece of wire found around the human remains was forensically examined and an expert formed the view that these bolt cutters could have cut the wire recovered around sections of the remains.
Mr McHugh also revealed that in January 2022, McCourt contacted a vehicle recovery company and paid them to remove Mr Heagney’s BMW from Dromore.
The accused gave the company the car key and told them to leave the BMW at crossroads on the Omagh to Ballygawley Road, where it remained for several months.
Regarding Mr Heagney’s mobile phone, the prosecutor said evidence said the “final recorded activity” on the device was to McCourt, via Facebook Messenger, at 10.53am on January 1, 2022.
McCourt was subsequently arrested on October 10, 2022 and when he was asked if he had killed Mr Heagney, he replied ‘no I did not.’
The prosecutor said that over the course of several more interviews, he was asked “hundreds of questions” and to virtually all, McCourt replied ‘no comment, no comment, no comment.’
He did, however, supply a pre-prepared statement during the final interview on October 12, 2022 which said that Mr Heagney had been to McCourt’s flat in Dromore ‘from time to time.’
The statement also referenced other unnamed people who McCourt said had access to and who used vehicles associated with him with or without his consent.