Accused’s Phone Activity Recorded Near Reservoir Where Body Was Discovered

A court was informed that the mobile phone belonging to a man charged with Damien Heagney’s murder registered activity on a cell site encompassing the area around a reservoir where Mr. Heagney’s remains were later discovered. Mr. Heagney, aged 47, was last observed alive in late December 2021. He was reported as missing in July 2022, and his dismembered remains were retrieved from Cappagh reservoir in County Tyrone the subsequent month. Stephen McCourt, residing at Riverview in Augher, has entered a plea of not guilty to the murder of Mr. Heagney, with the alleged offense occurring on an unspecified date between December 29, 2021, and January 7, 2022. The jury at Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday received testimony from a PSNI cell site expert, who had conducted an analysis of data pertaining to the mobile phones linked to both the individual accused and the deceased. The prosecution’s argument posits that Mr. Heagney was last observed alive in late December 2021. A detective constable verified that, following an examination of cell site data, he was able to locate the deceased’s mobile phone at McGartland Terrace in Dromore on December 31, 2021. It has previously been presented to the jury that Mr. McCourt resided in an apartment at McGartland Terrace during the pertinent period. The expert further attested that telephone records demonstrated Mr. Heagney and Mr. McCourt communicated on December 31, and that they engaged in a video call at 10:53 on New Year’s Day. A barrister for the prosecution questioned the witness regarding the “intermittent usage” of Mr. McCourt’s mobile phone, which was detected by a cell site serving the Pomeroy and Cappagh Reservoir regions at different points on January 2, 3, and 4, 2022. When the expert was queried if it was “possible” for Mr. McCourt’s mobile to have been “in the vicinity of the reservoir for short periods” within these specified timeframes, he affirmed, “that is correct.” Subsequently, the police officer was cross-examined by a defence barrister and conceded that there were “limitations” inherent in cell site analysis. Upon being asked if it was accurate to state there was “no evidence that pinpoints” Mr. McCourt’s phone specifically at Cappagh reservoir, the witness concurred. The defence barrister then proposed that if his client’s mobile phone connected to a cell site in the Pomeroy area – which also encompassed the reservoir – “that could indicate he was in a vehicle driving through that location on his way somewhere else.” The witness once more responded, “that is correct.”