Three people, two men and a woman, have been charged with assaulting a man who was fatally wounded on a night out in Portadown.
None of the defendants attended Craigavon Magistrates Court where they were formally charged with common assault of Jake Bailey-Sloan on October 17 2021.
The three defendants are:
- Odhran Connolly (22) from Churchill Park in Portadown;
- Ethan Robert Dougan (25) Redrock Road, Cologne, Armagh
- Beth Vernon (22) from Moyraverty Meadows in Moyraverty
None of the alleged background facts were opened in court but it was reported at the time how Mr Bailey-Sloan (23) was injured at Mandeville Street on October 17 and although he was taken to hospital, he later died.
The case against the three defendants had been scheduled for a Preliminary Enquiry on Wednesday which would have seen the case elevated to the Crown Court but defence barristers asked for that to be adjourned.
Defence counsel David McKeown, acting for Connolly, indicated that he would be arguing there is no case to answer for his client.
The court did hear that in addition to more than 400 pages of statements and evidence, CCTV footage also forms part of the prosecution case.
Commenting that “there is a tragic background to this case,” District Judge Michael Ranaghan adjourned the case to January 22.