Three teens held in McGovern case

Three teenagers are being questioned tonight about the murder of Monaghan student Jason McGovern.

Three teenagers are being questioned tonight about the murder of Monaghan student Jason McGovern.

Police said a 19-year-old was detained in Omagh where two other youths, aged 17 and 18, were also arrested by detectives investigating the death.

A man aged 21, also from the Omagh area was earlier released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Mr McGovern, a 19-year-old student, died on New Year’s Eve, hours after he was attacked twice on a night out in the Co Tyrone town.

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He had been involved in a verbal exchange with a group of up to five men outside a bar at John Street. He was then followed by at least three of the gang to a car park at the Weigh Inn nightclub where he was punched and fell to the ground.

Mr McGovern managed to make his way back to a friend’s house at Emyvale, Co Monaghan where he stayed the night.

However, his lifeless body was found just before midday on Monday.

Post mortem results revealed Mr McGovern died from head injuries.

Omagh’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) met today to discuss Mr McGovern‘s death as well as the town‘s night-time economy. The meeting which included local politicians and representatives from statutory agencies such as the PSNI comes amid growing concerns about the level of street violence in Omagh.

A PSNI spokeswoman confirmed that during a seven hour period on Friday, December 21 police dealt with more than 20 reports of assaults, disorderly behaviour and criminal damage in the town.

Six police officers were injured and there were 14 arrests for public order and assault offences.

PCSP chairman councillor Alan Rainey said: “The ball is in our court. The focus is on Omagh now and our PCSP. We will examine all aspects we feel are of interest to find out exactly what went wrong and to ensure that something similar does not happen again.

“We will not be shy in our investigations.”

Meanwhile, funeral arrangements for Mr McGovern have yet to be finalised.

PA