Man denies murdering pregnant partner

A man from the North today denied murdering a pregnant mother of four at her Derry home last summer.

Stephen Cahoon will make legal history tomorrow as the first person to face a jury in the Republic for a non-terrorist related offence in the north.

Mr Cahoon (aged 37) is accused of murdering his partner Jean Quigley at her home in Cornshell Fields, in the Shantallow area of the city on July 26. During a brief hearing in Dublin’s Central Criminal Court the defendant, who was dressed in a grey coloured hoody and jeans, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Seven women and five men were chosen to hear the trial.

Mr Justice Paul Carney warned jurors should indicate if they knew the defendant, the 30-year-old murder victim, her family or had any connections with Derry before taking the oath.

The judge also revealed the trial is expected to last two to two and a half weeks.

“It was earlier called on to last six weeks... but issues have been narrowed and witnesses pruned,” said Mr Justice Carney.

Under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act of 1976 suspects can be tried in the Republic for alleged offences in Britain or the North.

After his arrest in Donegal Mr Cahoon, of Harvey Street, Derry, opted to have his trial in the Republic, becoming the the first person to stand trial in this jurisdiction for a non-terrorist related offence in the North.

Last November Belfast man Gerard Mackin became the first person to be convicted by a Dublin court for a murder carried out in the North.

Mackin was jailed for life by the non-jury Special Criminal Court after he was found guilty of the killing of Belfast taxi driver Eddie Burns in the city in 2007.