Man charged with murder of Martin Gavin in north Belfast

Francie Henry is accused of involvement in the fatal stabbing at a house on Harcourt Drive earlier this year.

Mr Gavin, 47, died in hospital on February 6, four weeks after the alleged attack.

A £20,000 reward had been offered as part of efforts to obtain information about the circumstances surrounding the stabbing on January 7.

Henry is understood to have been living at the Harcourt Drive address at the time of the incident, but is currently detained at Hydebank Young Offenders’ Centre on unrelated matters.

He was formally accused of Mr Gavin’s murder after being produced for questioning by investigating detectives.

Dressed in a green sweatshirt and in handcuffs, Henry appeared remotely at Belfast Magistrates’ Court to have the charge put to him.

During the brief hearing a detective constable said she was aware of the circumstances and could connect him to the alleged offence.

Defence solicitor Eoghan McKenna confirmed his client is aware of the charge.

With no further details about the alleged stabbing disclosed, Henry did not seek bail at this stage.

Mr McKenna told the court: “He is a remand prisoner in relation to another case, and there are also address issues to be investigated.”

The lawyer added: “The evidence against Mr Henry at this stage seems limited, but we are not in a position to proceed with the bail application.”

District Judge Mark McGarrity remanded the accused in custody, to appear again by video-link on April 6.

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman who were also arrested on Monday as part of the police investigation have been released.

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