Man accused of trying to kill his father to stand trial

A MAN accused of attempting to murder his elderly father is to stand trial in Belfast later this year, a court has heard.

Paul Coulter has been charged with — and denies — attempting to murder his father last summer.

The accused (42), from Ardtole Park in Newtownabbey, has also been charged with wounding James Coulter with intent to do him grievous bodily harm, and of damaging both a mobile phone belonging to his mother Kathleen Coulter and a PSNI vehicle.

All four offences are alleged to have occurred on August 21 last year. As each of the charges was put to Coulter at Belfast Crown Court yesterday, he replied “not guilty”.

Although no details of the alleged incident emerged during the brief hearing, a bail hearing was told it was the Crown’s case that Coulter beat his 74-year-old father unconscious with repeated blows to the head, which resulted in the pensioner spending five days in hospital.

The bail application was told it was Coulter’s case that his father was attacked by two people who called at the family home in Newtownabbey.

After Coulter entered the ‘not guilty’ pleas, his barrister Gavan Duffy QC told Her Honour Judge Loughran that he would be seeking a medical report on his client.

Judge Loughran said she would review the case in four weeks’ time when it is hoped a date for trial can be fixed.

This date, the judge said, would most likely be in September. Coulter was remanded back into custody.