£2.4m deal 'behind mother murder'

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A man murdered his mother because she was blocking a property development which would earn him almost £2.5m, it has been alleged in the High Court.

The allegation was made by a crown lawyer opposing bail applications by David McCartan and his wife Geradline.

The pair, of Rossmara Park, Warrenpoint deny murdering Annie McCartan, 75.

The lawyer said the victim would not have agreed to apartments being built on the site of her house. However, a defence lawyer dismissed the claim.

Mrs McCartan was beaten, stabbed and had her throat cut in her home at Summerhill, Warrenpoint last June.

Crown lawyer Joseph Aiken, said police had discovered that David McCartan, "who was practically bankrupt", intended to build apartments on the site of his mother's home and surrounding houses.

"It is believed that the mother would not have agreed to this and that the only way he could progress his plans was to murder her," Mr Aiken said.

"The property development would have been worth £2.4m."

However, the defence lawyer said the claim "simply didn't hold water".

Mr Justice Morgan said the case against the defendants was based on circumstantial evidence with nothing to directly link them to it.

However, he refused bail because of a risk of interference with the ongoing investigtion as police had still to interview a significant number of witnesses.