Man accused of Kevin Davidson's murder claims credit for twice saving his life
A man accused of the murder of a man in a squat in Belfast claims he saved the victim's life on two occasions just days before he died, a court has heard.
Kevin Davidson, 34, was found dead in the back yard of a house on Donegall Avenue in Belfast on Saturday.
His body was covered by bin bags and a sleeping bag, which was held in position by weight lifting bars.
Police believe Mr Davidson was strangled with a clothes' line.
Colm Barry McClenaghan, 32, of no fixed abode, and Jade Mary Anna Harrison, 35, of Donegall Avenue, appeared before a district judge at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Thursday charged with his murder.
The court heard that Harrison is Mr Davidson's former partner.
District judge Anne Marshall was told both accused deny involvement in the murder.
The court heard the victim and two accused were drug users and they had all been squatting in the same house in Donegall Avenue - a property owned by a man currently in prison.
It was claimed that occupants of the squat regularly used a back window to exit the property to avoid drug dealing activities being detected by the police.
The two accused appeared in the dock together dressed in grey custody track suits. They nodded to confirm that they understood the charge facing them.
Lawyers for both challenged the basis upon which the police had connected them to the murder, claiming there was insufficient evidence to link them to the death.
A solicitor for McClenaghan said her client had intervened on three occasions in July to help Mr Davidson, two of which involved life-threatening situations.
She said he had performed CPR on Mr Davidson when he had taken a drug overdose and, on a separate occasion, had talked him down from a bridge as he contemplated committing suicide.
The solicitor noted that on both those occasions Harrison had called the emergency services to seek help for Mr Davidson.
On the night when Mr Davidson was last seen in public, July 9, McClenaghan also intervened after he was assaulted by another man on the Lisburn Road, the court heard.
"I would say that Mr McClenaghan gave a detailed account to police and he's made every attempt to help Mr Davidson and he describes essentially saving his life on two separate occasions," said the solicitor.
"And on both those occasions the defendants sought help from the emergency services."
She added: "We know that Mr Davidson was assaulted by another individual hours before his death, and therefore there's other possible suspects out there who are yet to be spoken to."
The court heard that police attended the property on several occasions prior to the discovery of Mr Davidson's body and made inquiries with both Harrison and McClenaghan over his whereabouts.
Asked why officers had not searched the back yard during those visits, a detective sergeant told the court that the case was being treated as a missing persons investigation at that stage, so police were not actively looking for a body.
When the body was discovered on July 20, police observed air fresheners, aftershave and perfume in the kitchen and utility room and bin bags had been placed against the back door in an apparent effort to block air from entering from outside.
Blood-stained clothing was found in one of those bags, the court heard.
The court was told that Mr Davidson's mother had contacted police on July 15 to report him missing, having not heard from him since July 8 when she had spoken to him on the phone.
On that occasion she said her son had told her Harrison was cheating on him and had stolen money from him.
His mother told officers that he was in the company of Harrison and an unknown man during the call and he expressed fears he was going to be attacked.
"She heard Kevin state 'they are going to beat me up'," the officer told the court.
"Kevin sounded distressed, and she felt that Kevin was holding his phone so that they could hear what was going on."
The court also heard that, prior to that call with his mother, a friend of Mr Davidson had overheard him speaking on the phone to both Harrison and McClenaghan - a conversation during which both men allegedly threatened to break the other's jaw.
The officer told the judge that hours after Mr Davidson had the call with his mother - just after midnight on July 9 - he was seen with the two accused on CCTV leaving the Donegall Avenue area and heading toward the City Hospital in Belfast.
They were then seen on the Lisburn Road - where the assault incident involving Mr Davidson was captured - before they all returned in the direction of Donegall Avenue before 1am.
The court heard that the last activity on Mr Davidson's phone was at 1.53am.
The detective sergeant told the court that police believe he was murdered in the back yard.
She acknowledged that no forensic evidence had yet been identified to link the accused to the crime, but she said 130 items seized from the property were still awaiting analysis.
The judge was told that both accused accept they were in the property with Mr Davidson in the early hours of July 9, but they claim he left the house voluntarily when he walked in on them having sex.
A lawyer for Harrison described the case against her client as "speculative".
"There hasn't been one shred of evidence produced that contradicts her version of events," she said.
Judge Marshall said she understood why the legal representatives had attempted to challenge the connection to the charge, but she nevertheless said she was satisfied that police had offered sufficient evidence to connect both accused.
No bail applications were made, and the two accused were remanded in custody to appear before a judge again on August 22.