Damien Heagney’s Blood Discovered in Murder Accused’s Flat, Court Informed

On Tuesday, a court was informed that blood corresponding to Cookstown resident Damien Heagney was discovered in the County Tyrone apartment belonging to the individual charged with his murder. Stephen Eugene McCourt, aged 41, residing at Riverview, Augher, County Tyrone, faces charges for the murder of Mr. Heagney, alleged to have occurred between December 30, 2021, and January 6, 2022. Mr. Heagney, 47, was found deceased in August 2022, with his remains retrieved from a reservoir located in Cappagh, County Tyrone. His last known sighting was in Dromore on New Year’s Eve, 2021. Furthermore, the court was presented with evidence suggesting the accused was observed “loading a carpet” that had a “dark stain” into the rear of his white van. During his opening statement, Prosecution Senior Counsel Mr. Gary McHugh informed the court about evidence concerning telephone interactions between Damian Heagney and Mr. McCourt on New Year’s Eve 2021. A police investigation indicated that Mr. Heagney’s final recorded movements occurred between Cookstown and Dromore on December 31, 2021, as disclosed to the court. On that particular evening, Mr. Heagney was operating his BMW. After encountering vehicle trouble, he contacted a breakdown recovery service, which subsequently transported both Mr. Heagney and his car to a location near the accused’s residence. Mr. McHugh further stated to the court that forensic blood samples collected by police from the doorframe of the main bedroom in Mr. McCourt’s residence were consistent with Mr. Heagney’s blood. Throughout the trial, the jury received multiple testimonies from detectives who had been dispatched in January 2022 to investigate the location of Mr. Heagney’s vehicle, an inquiry that had been recorded on police systems on several occasions. On one occasion, police noted the car had been backed into a layby situated between Ballygawley and Omagh. Separately, on January 16, officers responded to reports of the BMW being abandoned and obstructing the entrance to a property located a short distance from Dromore, on the primary road leading to Omagh. Subsequent to these events, officers visited Mr. Heagney’s home in Cookstown, the address registered to the vehicle. Detectives could not enter the premises and observed an electricity meter ringing, indicating a need for a top-up, alongside a letterbox overflowing with unsolicited mail. Police additionally informed the court that they had conducted a welfare check at Mr. McCourt’s residence in Gartland Terrace after a white Citroen Berlingo van, registered under his name, was discovered parked next to a reservoir. According to police testimony in court, Mr. McCourt informed officers that he had no connection to the vehicle and suggested his father might have had access to it. A vehicle recovery operator also testified, informing the jury that in January 2022, he had accompanied Mr. McCourt to Cappagh Reservoir to retrieve a Berlingo van that was bogged down in grass. A written statement presented to the court further indicated that Mr. McCourt had utilized the services of the same vehicle operator to tow a BMW from a house entrance it had been obstructing. The proceedings remain ongoing.