Bellaghy teenager's ex-partner remanded over fatal shooting

A 26-year-old man has been remanded in custody charged with murdering his ex-partner's sister and attempting to murder her.

Lauren O'Neill, 18, was shot dead at a house in Bellaghy on Saturday. Her 21-year-old sister, Brenda, remains in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Phelim McNally, from Station Park, Toomebridge, appeared at Londonderry Magistrates' Court on Monday. He replied: "I do" when asked if he understood the charges.

He is the ex-partner of Brenda O'Neill and the father of their two-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son.

Relatives of the O'Neill sisters as well as relatives of the defendant wept when a police officer told District Judge Barney McElholm that he was familiar with both the background and circumstances of the case and he added that he believed he could connect the defendant to both charges.

There was no application for bail.

After the hearing, a female relative of the two sisters broke down and had to be assisted from the courtroom by other family members.