Villa death suspect refused bail by Spanish court

AN Irishman appeared in a Spanish court yesterday on suspicion of killing his partner.

Paul Hickey was remanded in custody pending further investigation into the violent death of his girlfriend, Celine Conroy.

Ms Conroy, 26, was found lying in a pool of blood by police at the couple's holiday home near Alicante on Sunday afternoon.

The mother-of-three suffered extensive injuries and is believed to have been beaten.

Mr Hickey, 28, was reportedly restrained and sedated by police after he violently resisted arrest at the villa, which lies in the town of San Fulgencio.

The north Dublin man was taken by officers from the Civil Guard to Orihuele Court in Alicante at around lunchtime yesterday.

Sporting runners, a blue sleeveless top and long blue shorts, Mr Hickey was escorted into the courthouse by two officers.

He kept his head bowed and did not comment to waiting media.

His father, Paul Ainscough, originally from Dublin's north inner city, also attended the court.

Now living in Darndale, north Dublin, he pulled a t-shirt over his head and gave a two-fingered salute to the media.

Ainscough, known as 'Gash', was a significant heroin dealer in Dublin's north inner city, particularly in the 1980s.

A number of garda sources said he continued dealing throughout the 1990s and into this decade.

Other garda sources said he had stopped dealing and now worked a stall selling sweets and chocolates on Dublin's Moore Street.

Gardaí caught him with €87,000 in 2001, which they suspect he was using to buy heroin. The money was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau in part-payment for taxes owed.

Mr Hickey, who uses his mother's maiden name, was refused bail yesterday.

The judge will continue investigating the case against him. The initial process is expected to take a number of months, but the case could take until October 2006 before it comes to trial. Hickey is likely to be kept in custody until then.

The couple's three children, Shane, eight, Chloe, five, and Leah, one, are understood to be in the care of Mr Hickey's aunt.

The children were in the holiday home at the time of their mother's death and Shane is reported to have witnessed it.

Ms Conroy's father, David, has flown out to Alicante and is organising the return of his grandchildren with the aid of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Ms Conroy's mother, Sandra, is understood to be receiving treatment for cancer in a Dublin hospital.