Man found guilty of Damien Heagney murder

A man has been found guilty of murdering Damien Heagney, as well as dismembering and disposing of his body.

Mr Heagney, 47, from Cookstown, County Tyrone, was last seen alive at the end of December 2021.

He was reported missing in July 2022 and, the following month, his partially dismembered remains were recovered from Cappagh Reservoir in County Tyrone.

Stephen McCourt, 41, from Riverview in Augher, County Tyrone, had denied the charges but was found guilty on Wednesday.

He has received an automatic life sentence for murder. In a tariff hearing in May, he will find out how many years he must serve before being considered for parole.

Mr Heagney was last seen in Dromore, County Down, on New Year’s Eve in 2021.

His dismembered body was found in August 2022, a month after he was reported missing.

McCourt’s trial lasted three weeks.

Prosecution lawyers told the court that the defendant was not only involved in Mr Heagney’s murder but also in attempts to dispose of his body on an unknown date between 29 December 2021 and 7 January 2022.

The trial heard that on 10 August 2022, Mr Heagney’s dismembered remains were recovered in two packages from the reservoir near Pomeroy, County Tyrone.

The prosecution said this was “an apparent attempt to dispose of the body”.

The court heard evidence that the packages contained Mr Heagney’s body parts.

One package contained lower limbs and the second contained neck bones, along with two arms and a skull. A metal fragment was founded lodged in the skull.

A pathologist told the trial he was unable to determine the exact cause of Mr Heagney’s death because of decomposition, but identification was confirmed through dental and medical records.

The pathologist also said three wounds to the head and neck were consistent with that from a typical household knife.

During the trial, the prosecution outlined that McCourt was the last person to see Mr Heagney alive, the last person to have telephone contact with him and that traces of Mr Heagney’s blood were found at an address of McCourt’s.

The jury also heard that mobile phone analysis placed McCourt’s phone near Cappagh Reservoir during the dates in question and that McCourt’s van was seen parked at the reservoir on 6 January.

McCourt did not give evidence during the trial but his defence argued that the prosecution’s case was based on circumstantial evidence and that there were too many gaps in it that did not prove guilt.

An 11-person jury of three women and eight men found McCourt guilty – he showed no emotion as the verdict was read out.

Concluding the proceedings, Justice Stephen Fowler said: “You have been found guilty of murder and there is only one sentence I can impose and that is one life imprisonment.”

After the verdict was read out in court, Mr Heagney’s mother hugged family members and became extremely upset saying “he butchered my son”.