A cross-border investigation team is set to meet in The Hague over the killing of a woman in Limerick, a Belfast court has heard.
Agencies from Northern Ireland and the Republic are involved in the international effort to prosecute the man accused of stabbing Geila Ibram to death during a “sexual exchange” earlier this year.
Habib Shamel, 32, remains in custody at HMP Maghaberry charged with carrying out the murder on April 4 this year.
The 27-year-old victim’s mutilated body was discovered at an apartment block in the Dock Road area of Limerick.
Ms Ibram, who was originally from Romania, died from multiple stab wounds inflicted to the neck, face and abdomen in what police described as a vicious and frenzied attack.
Shamel, an Afghani national with an address at Cecil Street in Limerick, was later arrested in the Malone area of south Belfast.
He is charged with Ms Ibram’s murder under the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975, which allows the PSNI to prosecute in Northern Ireland if a suspect travelled from another jurisdiction.
A previous court heard claims that he had arranged a “sexual exchange” with the victim on the day she died.
CCTV footage allegedly showed him arriving at her property and then leaving again less than two minutes later.
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Detectives claim he injured his hand during the suspected encounter and attended hospital in Limerick before travelling north by bus.
With the PSNI providing assistance in the murder investigation, a formal International Letter of Request (ILOR) for information has been sent to the Republic of Ireland.
Shamel appeared remotely at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, where a Crown lawyer disclosed new details about ongoing contact with the Department of Justice in Dublin.
“A joint investigation team has been formed to try to speed it up, which comprises a number of different agencies from both jurisdictions,” she said.
District Judge Steven Keown was also told the process is due to be taken to the Dutch city where the International Criminal Court is seated.
“There was a meeting scheduled in The Hague but that hasn’t occurred yet,” the prosecutor added.
Despite acknowledging the complexities of the case, defence barrister Chris Sherrard questioned the level of progress being made.
“What it boils down to is a lot of sound and fury not amounting to much,” he claimed.
Shamel did not apply for bail at this stage and was remanded in continuing custody.
Adjourning the case to next month, Judge Keown indicated: “I want a specific update about the meeting in The Hague.”