A MURDER suspect told police he was in a fight with a student who plunged to his death from the balcony of a ninth-floor Belfast apartment, a court heard yesterday.
A detective said the alleged altercation took place after an 18th birthday party moved from a bar in the north of the city to the flat at King Street.
James Murray (19) was found dead early on Saturday morning after falling from a communal balcony into the courtyard below.
The victim, who lived in the Lagmore area of west Belfast, had moved from Dublin in September to live with his father.
Mark Keenan (26) was later charged with his murder after voluntarily attending a police station.
The accused, from St James Street, Belfast, was remanded in custody yesterday after a judge was told police still have 11 witnesses they want to speak to.
Keenan spoke only to confirm he understood the charge against him at Belfast Magistrates Court.
A detective sergeant who claimed he could connect him with the offence said the accused was stopped twice by police on Saturday morning after emergency services were called to the scene.
On one occasion he was permitted to go on his way after telling officers he was coming from his girlfriend’s house, the court heard.
According to the detective, Keenan went to Antrim Road station later that day. “The defendant informed police he had been involved in a fight with the deceased, and the deceased had subsequently fallen off the balcony and he was unaware how this had happened,” the officer said.
The court was told some of those in the apartment had been drinking heavily at an 18th birthday party earlier in the evening at a bar on the Cliftonville Road.
Bottles of beer and spirit shots were taken before the group moved on to King Street. Litre bottles of vodka and whisky were opened at the flat, it was claimed.
Defence lawyer Feargal McElhatton said some witnesses were so drunk they were not fit to be interviewed until the next day. He added: “The only account one can rely on is the account given by Mr Keenan in relation to what happened on the walkway. He’s making the case that he left the apartment and on the way out he was hit on the back of the head and subsequently he fell, and was then involved in a grappling exercise.”
Keenan was said to have had a black eye and bruising when he went to police. With the accused’s memory said to be hazy due to alcohol, the detective confirmed no other witnesses to the incident had yet been identified.
Refusing bail, District Judge George Conner said he was concerned about possible interference with witnesses still to be interviewed. He remanded the accused in custody for one week, but stressed that he could be released if police have not made progress during that period.