Woman charged with murder following house fire

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

A woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of a man following a house fire in Co Antrim.

Patrick “Paddy” Douglas, 55, died from his injuries in hospital after the blaze in the Main Street area of Ballymoney on Tuesday.

On Saturday, a 34-year-old woman appeared before Ballymena Magistrates’ Court charged with his murder.

The accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke in court only to confirm she understood the charge.

A detective constable told the court she was able to connect the accused to the charge.

The court heard the woman was spoken to on the morning of the fire and arrested on Wednesday.

After two days of interviews she was charged on Friday.

The court heard a preliminary report from an expert which effectively said that it was not possible to exclude an electrical fault due to the extent of the fire damage.

However, the detective constable said an expert formed the opinion that the fire may have been caused by direct ignition of combustible materials.

Under questioning, the PSNI representative said the report also says it could not exclude that an electrical fault may have occurred.

There was no application for bail and legal aid was granted.

Under an application from the accused’s legal representative, the judge ordered restrictions on naming the woman.

The case will return to court on July 28.