This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7608184.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Sectarian abuse 'preceded murder' | |
(about 6 hours later) | |
A court has heard how Ballymena schoolboy Michael McIlveeen had sectarian abuse shouted at him before he was fatally attacked in an alleyway. | |
Six people are accused of the 15-year-old's murder in May 2006. | |
A teenager is also charged with criminal damage and causing affray. | |
A Crown lawyer said Michael McIveen was hit on the head with a baseball bat by one of the accused then kicked while he was lying on the ground. | |
The lawyer said the court would see CCTV footage showing the deceased and a friend being chased from a Ballymena leisure centre to a town centre car park after talking to a group of about 30 people close to a cinema. | |
He was then attacked in the car park. | |
Afterwards, the victim was unable to talk properly but was helped to his home a short distance away by a friend. | |
However, within hours he was taken by ambulance to Antrim Area Hospital where he died 24 hours later. | |
The court heard a post mortem was carried out which revealed the deceased had two fractures to his skull and bruising to the brain. | |
The prosecution said the six people - five men and a juvenile - charged with the murder are collectively responsible for his death | |
The trial is to be moved from Coleraine Crown Court because the courtroom is too small. | |
Defence teams for each of the accused and prosecution lawyers said a fair trial was not possible because Coleraine court was not big enough. | Defence teams for each of the accused and prosecution lawyers said a fair trial was not possible because Coleraine court was not big enough. |
The judge said the trial will move to Antrim on Monday, but said he was unhappy at the timing of the complaint. | The judge said the trial will move to Antrim on Monday, but said he was unhappy at the timing of the complaint. |
The trial continues. | |