Woman appears in court in Derry/Londonderry charged with preventing the legal burial of a corpse

By Eamonn Macdermott

A woman has appeared at Derry/Londonderry Magistrate's Court charged with preventing the legal burial of a corpse which a police officer said was in a state of 'significant decomposition'.

Catherine Young (35) with an address at Bayview Terrace in Derry faced a number of charges including preventing the burial on November 22, fraud by false representation, the theft of a bank card, stealing car keys and stealing a car again on November 22.

A police officer connected Young to the charges and told the court that police were alerted by someone in England who told them her friend, Young, was threatening to throw herself in the Foyle.

A police investigation began and as a result the corpse of Young's partner was found in Bayview Terrace and police believe he had been dead for several weeks.

The officer said Young was taken to hospital after throwing herself in front of a car although her defence counsel said this was an accident.

When police spoke to Young in hospital she was aware of the dead man before police mentioned it to her.

The court heard that Young had been in a medical institution until Wednesday and police believe she had gone to Ballymoney, stolen the car belonging to an acquaintance and then driven to Derry.

The officer said they could not be certain where Young had been from Wednesday but they knew from CCTV she had been outside the flat in Bayview Terrace on Saturday and had checked post there.

They couldn't say for definite if she had entered the flat but she had asked another tenant if they had seen the deceased.

The officer said the body of the dead man was clearly visible lying on a bed if anyone had looked through the window.

The court heard that Young had tried to use the dead man's bank card.

The officer also said the last time the dead man had been seen alive was on October 30 and police believed he was dead for several weeks.

Police do not believe there was anything suspicious about the death.

Defence counsel Damian Halleron asked was there any evidence placing Young inside the flat and was told there wasn't at this stage.

He asked had fingerprints and forensics had been taken and was told there had been but that would take sometime to analyse.

The barrister said that Young was at pains to stress that the accident was not a suicide attempt but simply a road traffic accident.

Mr Halleron said Young was a vulnerable person as was the deceased and said his client had mental health issues.

The police officer told the court Young had been in a mental health facility until last Wednesday but had left contrary to medical advice.

The barrister said this had been 'a distressing experience' for Young and asked the court not 'to add to her misery' by remanding her in custody.

District Judge Oonagh Mullen released Young on bail to an address approved by the PSNI, imposed a curfew and a tag and stipulated she attended her GP within days of her release.

Young will appear again on December 10.