A man charged in connection with the mugging of an Irish student in Chicago was refused bail today.
Heriberto Viramontes (30) and his girlfriend Marcy Cruz (25) are both charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery.
Ms Cruz's bond hearing is to be held tomorrow.
Natasha McShane, a 23-year-old UCD postgraduate student who was studying at the University of Illinois in Chicago, remained in a critical condition in the Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she was transferred.
Ms McShane, who is from Silverbridge, Co Armagh and a friend, Stacy Jurich (24) were both struck over the head with a baseball bat during the mugging on April 23rd.
Ms Jurich’s condition has been upgraded from a serious to a fair condition, according to a spokeswoman for the hospital.
Ms Jurich regained consciousness on Saturday and talked to her mother Wendy Gay Van Etten who later told the media that the robber had struck her daughter on the back of the head, causing her to stumble to the ground before striking Ms McShane two or three times on the head.