Erne boat trip murder accused denied permission to move home

A JUDGE has refused an application to allow a man awaiting trial for allegedly murdering his wife to return to the family home in Donegal.

Stephen Mckinney is accused of killing his wife Lu Na (35), who died after entering the water in the Lower Lough Erne area of Fermanagh in April 2017.

The couple were on a boating holiday when Mrs Mckinney drowned.

Her husband (44) was charged with but denies murdering the mother-of-two.

As part of his bail, the accused is currently residing at Castletown Square in Fintona.

Earlier this year a trial was held at Dungannon Crown Court, but it had to be aborted because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mckinney, who has been on bail since January 2018, launched an application to vary the conditions imposed, allowing him to return to the family home in Convoy, Co Donegal.

The bail application, at Belfast Crown Court, sitting in the High Court, was objected to by the Crown. A prosecutor said if conditions such as tagging, residency and curfew were removed, it would be impossible for Mckinney to be monitored by the PSNI.

Defence barrist er Martin O’rourke QC said that when bail was first granted in January 2018, there was “very little evidence” of how Mckinney would behave regarding the impending trial.

Pointing out that his client had attended every day of the trial held earlier this year, Mr O’rourke said it was through no fault of Mckinney’s that the hearing was aborted.

The defence barrister told Madam Justice Mcbride: “The position is that his trial is, realistically, not going to occur before spring 2021. There is a very realistic chance that it could be substantially longer than that.”

Pointing out that Mckinney had adhered to all bail conditions, had not re-offended and had turned up on time for his trial every day, Mr O’rourke said, “The court is in a position to reassess the attitude of the defendant more clearly now”.

Mr O’rourke said Mckinney was “extremely anxious to have his trial held at the earliest opportunity”, adding “he was extremely disappointed the trial had to be aborted”.

The barrister asked the judge to vary elements of Mckinney’s bail and allow him to return to his home in Convoy.

Rejecting suggestions that his client was likely to abscond, Mr O’rourke said Mckinney could report to the police in Strabane via a telephone call or via the Zoom app, or gardai could assist by ensuring Mckinney was living in Convoy.

Madam Justice Mcbride raised Crown concerns that Mckinney would abscond to China.

After pointing out that MCKinney had surrendered his passport, Mr O’rourke said that while his client had lived and worked in China for a period, he did not have property, business or financial interests in the country.

Crown barrister Michael Chambers reinforced objections to the application to vary bail and said that if the conditions of tagging, residency and curfew were removed by the court, it would be very difficult for police to monitor him.

Expressing concerns t hat there would be nothing to stop Mckinney from absconding, Mr Chambers said that should MCKinney flee, the PSNI “would not be aware he had absconded for some period of time”.

Mr Chambers added t hat should Mckinney be allowed to return to Co Donegal, the PSNI would have “no way of ensuring he was adhering” to any bail conditions.

After listening to submissions from the Crown and defence, Madam Justice Mcbride accepted Mckinney had not breached any of his bail conditions.

However, she said that concerns he may not turn up for trial remained a “real and substantial risk”, given that he has links to China and has expressed an interest to return there.

‘If the defendant fled, the PSNI would not be aware that he had absconded for some time’