Pat murder accused refused bail to visit ill sister in hospital
A MAN accused of murdering William ‘Pat’ McCormick has been refused compassionate bail to visit his “severely unwell” sister in an intensive care unit.
An application on behalf of David Gill (26) was rejected at Newtownards Magistrates Court yesterday.
District Judge Mark Hamill noted it was the accused’s third application.
He told Gill: “I can envisage number four, five and six coming down the track... I’m not going to have this back door bail.
“I was told the last time that this lady was basically on her death bed and that’s why I granted bail — I’m not going to do it again.”
Gill, from the Ballyglighorn Road in Newtownards, is in custody accused of the murder of Mr McCormick on May 30 this year.
His co-accused, Lesley-Ann Dodds (21), from Mountcollyer Avenue in Belfast, is on bail facing charges of aiding and abetting Mr McCormick’s murder and perverting the course of justice.
Nothing of the circumstances surrounding Mr McCormick’s death were opened in court yesterday.
However, previous hearings had heard claims that Dodds, who was allegedly in a relationship with Mr McCormick while being engaged to Gill, lured the victim to an address in Comber,
Killed: William ‘Pat’ McCormick
where he was last seen alive on May 30.
The 55-year-old father-of-four was not seen again and his body was recovered from a lake in Ballygowan on July 9.
In court yesterday, defence solicitor Darren Duncan said the family “have very real concerns about her mortality” as Gill’s sister’s condition has “rapidly deteriorated” to such an extent that she has been transferred from an open ward to ICU.
He revealed that the first time Gill asked for compassionate bail he was freed for a few hours into the care of the prison chaplain with the judge warning him that “if he abused the trust placed in him, that would be a matter for himself ”.
“He honoured that bail,” said Mr Duncan, adding that a second similar application had been refused two weeks ago as there was no medical report before the court but “we now have a medical”.
Giving evidence to the court, Detective Sergeant White said that as before, police were objecting to Gill being freed as they fear he could abscond or interfere with the investigation.
“There’s a forensic link, a telecoms link and a motive. This man may be facing a life sentence which would give him motive to flee the jurisdiction,” the officer said.
DS White told the court “there’s outstanding evidence, one being a mobile phone” so if Gill was freed and “left the custody of the chaplain, he could contact his co-accused and instruct her to destroy any outstanding evidence”.
He further submitted there was a risk of Gill interfering with witnesses, revealing that many are known to Gill and “a number have expressed fear of him personally”.
Refusing to release Gill, Judge Hamill said while he had been initially told “that this lady is on her death bed”, the medical report said there was a “low but not negligible risk of decline”.
Gill will appear again via videolink on October 25. SHAHIN Hassan has said that he feels “really gutted and disappointed” after becoming the first candidate to be fired from The Apprentice.
The chartered engineer (36), from Birmingham, failed to make a single sale during the bumper launch episode of the BBC One show’s 15th series.
Mr Hassan said he felt “out of control” during the first task, which saw Lord Sugar’s latest batch of 16 entrepreneurs fly to South Africa to create and run bespoke safari and vineyard tours.
The former contestant explained: “I was really gutted and disappointed in myself because I have always strived to do the best I can.
“In this situation, it was almost like I felt out of control.
“I wasn’t in control — normally I am the project manager in anything I do.
“I should have taken on that task to lead it and win it.”