The latest man to be accused of murdering senior loyalist paramilitary Tommy English went to police voluntarily, a court heard today.
John Bond (42) is the ninth person to be charged in connection with the killing of the Ulster Defence Association leader more than eight years ago.
Mr Bond, a plant operator from Mount Vernon Park, north Belfast, faces two further counts of membership of the outlawed Ulster Volunteer Force between 1996 and 2000.
He appeared before Belfast Magistrates Court after being charged by detectives from the Historical Enquiries Team - a specialist police unit set up to investigate unsolved killings during the Northern Ireland conflict.
During the hearing a detective sergeant said he could connect him with the alleged offences. The officer confirmed that Mr Bond had gone to police voluntarily and by consent.
The court was also told that during interviews the accused consistently denied any involvement in the murder. It was further accepted that no forensic evidence exists against Mr Bond. He was remanded in custody to appear again via video link next month.
Another six men have been charged with murdering English (40), during a UDA-UVF feud which claimed seven lives.
English, who had been part of a loyalist negotiating team involved in talks at Stormont prior to the 1998 Belfast Agreement, was shot dead in front of his wife at their home on the Ballyduff Estate, Newtownabbey on Halloween night in 2000.
Two Newtownabbey brothers, David Stewart (38), and Robert Stewart (34), were also originally charged with the murder but have since pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting. It was claimed during a previous court hearing that they have implicated up to 10 men in the shooting.