'Residual piece of metal' found in Damien Heagney's skull

The pathologist who conducted the post-mortem examination on the body of Damien Heagney has told a court that he was unable to determine a "definitive cause of death".

The remains of Mr Heagney, aged 47, were recovered from a reservoir in Cappagh, County Tyrone, on 10 August 2022.

Stephen McCourt, 41, of Riverview in Augher, denies murdering Mr Heagney some time between 29 December 2021 and 7 January 2022.

Giving evidence to the court, Dr James Lynas said he "couldn't give a definitive cause of death" but provided "a prescriptive cause of death which was unascertained, due to dismemberment and decomposition".

Belfast Crown Court heard Dr James Lynas conducted the post-mortem examination on 11 August 2022 at the forensic mortuary in Belfast.

The pathologist described how, at the start of the examination, two packages containing body parts were placed through a CT scanner.

He said the first package, or exhibit, comprised an "adult size human skull with three of the bones from the upper part of the neck still attached to it".

He added that the left and right arms were also within the same exhibit.

The court heard the second exhibit contained "left and right lower limbs, left and right legs" which were "completely separate from the body".

The pathologist said, during an examination of the head, there were a number of "defects or slit like defects within the skin, in proximity to the left ear, and these looked very much like stab wounds".

"Further slits and defects were then identified on the back of the head and again these were consistent with stab wounds," he added.

During questioning from a prosecution lawyer, Dr Lynas told the court there were "multiple defects within the outer surface of the skull" and in "one of them there was a residual piece of metal".

"The piece of metal was triangular shaped, silver in colour and certainly was potentially consistent with the tip of a blade from a knife, having sheared or broken off and embedded within the skull."

He told the court "none of the defects or indeed the blade tip ...passed through the full thickness of the skull".

He added: "So therefore if these wounds had occurred during life they may have bled, but would not have immediately proved life threatening."

Dr Lynas also said there "were some defects within the skin of the left armpit, the left elbow and little finger side of the left forearm and these were suggestive of additional stab wounds".

However, he added that he couldn't exclude the possibility they occurred after death.

The pathologist said in his opinion the "dismemberment" of Mr Heagney's body occurred after death.

He also agreed with a prosecution lawyer it was "more likely" his death was caused by "some unnatural event".

During questioning from a defence lawyer, Dr Lynas agreed it was not possible to determine the date of Mr Heagney's death as a result of the post-mortem examination.

The pathologist also agreed that it was possible the cause of death could have been the result of trauma to a part of the body that was not recovered and available for examination.

When it was put to Dr Lynas that "it wasn't possible from a forensic pathology point of view to say when Mr Heagney's body was placed in the reservoir" he replied "yes."

He also agreed it was not possible to conclude when the dismemberment of the body occurred.

The pathologist also agreed with the defence lawyer's assertion "that it was entirely possible these body parts.....were placed in the water at a point in time after January 2022."

Dr Lynas told the court the "process of decomposition is highly variable and is affected by a number of factors."

"Mainly the temperature of the water, the flow of the water, the animals or the aquatic life that may be present in the water - all of these things can affect it and therefore a pathologist cannot give any accurate timing as to how long a body or body parts have been in the water."

The trial continues.