The trial into the murder of Damien Heagney has heard from a specialist police officer who tracked the activity on his mobile phone and that of the accused around the time it is suspected he was killed.
Stephen Eugene McCourt (41) previously of Gartland Terrace. Dromore then Riverview Augher, denies murdering the victim between 31 December 2021 and 6 January 2022.
On 10 August 2022 his dismembered remains were recovered in two packages from Cappagh Reservoir near Pomeroy.
A pathologist said due to dismemberment and decomposition, Mr Heangey had to be identified by dental and medical records.
With the trial now into the third week, the detective who is attached to the PSNI Major Investigation Team told Dungannon Crown Court how he analysed phone records belonging to the victim and McCourt and was able to plot movements and activity over the days in question.
On New Year’s Eve 2021 Mr Heagney’s phone was detected traveling between McGartland Terrace and Cookstown between midday and 1pm.
The same day it travelled back across the same route to McGartland Terrace.
At the same time McCourt’s phone was the area of his McGartland Terrance home.
Later that evening between 8 and 9pm, his phone was in the general Ballygawley area when there was communication from Mr Heagney’s phone.
This consisted of Mr Heagney making an attempted voice call which was not answered, which was followed by a text.
McCourt responded by text on two occasions.
It was found from late New Year’s Eve until 3 January 202, Mr Heagney’s phone had remained at McGartland Terrace, however analysis revealed from around midday for a time the device was then travelling between the general areas of Dromore and Kesh, including close to the shore of Lower Lough Erne.
After that, right through until 10am the next morning the phone was detected west of McGartland Terrace.
There was a communication entry on Mr Heagney’s phone shortly before 10pm on 3 January 2022, which the detective stated is believed was a connection to the internet.
“After that it ceased to record any information including location updates. There was nothing recorded after that point for a time,” he said.
It was stressed the phone would have to be switched on in order to be picked up by the network for radio connection, which the detective said, “May have been from losing power. The question is why did it lose radio connection? The most common would be from the device being switched off or running out of power. There was no connection with the network.”
The detective also advised up to that point persons ringing Mr Heaney were being diverted to voicemail, however at around 10am on 4 January 2022 the phone briefly “became active again”.
Two text messages also came through in the short time the phone was switched on but, “That was the last communication or activity recorded,” said the detective
He confirmed over the same duration between shortly before midnight on 30 December 2021 and minutes after midnight on 4 January 2022, McCourt’s phone was in the vicinity of McGartland Terrace throughout, with the single exception of when it was in Ballygawley.
However he also explained how on the evening if 2 January 2022, McCourt’s phone, “Detached from the network for just over 16 hours. This could have potentially meant it was switched off or out of power.”
Before detaching, the phone was in Dromore but when the SIM card activated the next day it was in Cookstown, “having been placed into another handset.”
At the time Mr Heagney’s phone “briefly sparked into life”, McCourt’s device had been removed from the network.
Immediately before this occurred the last location the original phone was live was McGartland Terrace area of Dromore and that’s where it was again picked when later switched back on, with the SIM card reinstalled.
The trial continues.
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