Victim revealed names of alleged attackers in calls before death, court told

By David Young, Press Association

A man murdered in Coleraine revealed the names of those responsible for attacking him in phone calls made before his death, a court has heard.

Wayne Reid, 43, told friends that Darrell Joseph Shaw, 33, was one of those who assaulted him inside a flat in the town in the early hours of Saturday, January 10th, Coleraine Magistrates’ Court was told.

Forensic tests have also identified Mr Reid’s blood on a jacket owned by Shaw, the court heard.

The details emerged as Shaw, from Belfast but of no fixed abode, appeared in court accused of the murder of the father of one.

He was remanded in custody after deputy district judge Austin Kennedy rejected a bail application.

The court was told that Shaw denied the murder, in a prepared statement provided to police, but made no answer to all questions asked by detectives when in custody.

Mr Reid, who formerly lived in Scotland, died on January 12th. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was a spleen injury caused by blunt force trauma.

During Monday’s remand hearing, a police detective sergeant told the court she could connect the accused to the charge.

She said motivation for the attack was related to an “ongoing dispute over a vehicle and drug debt”.

The officer said police believe Mr Reid sustained the fatal injuries in a flat in Society Street in Coleraine between 3:02am and 3:28am on January 10th.

She said CCTV showed the victim entering the property at 3.02am with no visible injuries but emerging almost half an hour later with facial injuries and “visibly unsteady on his feet”.

“The victim is seen to be swaying and having to steady himself on a door frame and fence to stop himself falling over,” she said.

The officer said CCTV shows that Shaw entered the property during that time-period. She said he was seen outside the property at 3:15am involved in a “heated discussion” and appearing “very agitated and angry”.

He then entered the property and emerged five minutes later, the officer said.

Mr Reid staggered out of the flat a further eight minutes later, the court heard.

The officer said Mr Reid returned to the flat and stayed there for several hours before seeking “refuge” in another property in nearby Society Court at about midday on the Saturday. He died from his injuries at that property two days later.

In the interim, the officer said he called two people to tell them what happened.

Outlining what those two individuals have since told police, the officer said: “One has said that Mr Shaw and three others were responsible for carrying out an assault on him and another outlines how a weapon was used to carry out an assault and also names Mr Shaw and one other.”

The officer said an iron bar had been recovered by officers investigating the attack.

She said police believe a number of people were involved in the assault and she told the judge that several other individuals had been arrested, five of them still in custody as of Monday.

They were a man aged 30 and four women aged 19, 38, 39 and 45. Police have been granted a court extension to question the 19-year-old for a further 36 hours.

The officer giving evidence to the court said one of the other suspects questioned about the murder has claimed Shaw was involved and had punched Mr Reid in the face.

Applying for bail, Shaw’s lawyer described the evidence against his client as a “particularly weak circumstantial case”.

He said there was no direct evidence linking Shaw to the spleen injury that caused Mr Reid’s death.

He read out Shaw’s denial statement, which said: “I did not murder Wayne Reid. I’m not responsible for the death of Wayne Reid. I did not cause the injuries that led to the death of Wayne Reid.”

The lawyer said that bail should be granted given the “inherent weaknesses” in the prosecution case.

The detective sergeant said police “strongly objected” to bail. She cited a risk of offences being committed or witnesses being interfered with if Shaw was released.

Judge Kennedy said the accused was linked to the murder by the victim’s blood found on his coat and that he had been “clearly implicated by witness statements”.

He said there would be a “danger to the public” if Shaw was released on bail.

The judge remanded the accused in custody to appear before the same court on February 16th.