Londonderry man pleads guilty to manslaughter of Spanish woman, 65

Ciaran Edward Murray, 30, admitted killing Montserrat Martorell, whose body was found in a Derry flat after a fire in August 2024. A murder charge remains.

Derry man admits killing of Spanish woman in Harvey Street flat fire

A 30-year-old man has told Belfast Crown Court he is "not guilty, but guilty to manslaughter" in connection with the death of a 65-year-old Spanish national whose body was found in a ground-floor flat following a blaze more than two years ago, bbc.com reports.

Ciaran Edward Murray, of Malvern Terrace in the Waterside area of Londonderry, faces a charge of murdering Montserrat Martorell. Her body was discovered at a flat in the Harvey Street area of Derry on 24 August 2024.

Murray appeared via video link at Friday's hearing. When the murder charge was put to him, he offered the partial plea. Prosecution lawyer Simon Reid KC told the court he would be proceeding with the full murder case.

A defence lawyer said a clinical psychologist was due to examine Murray in late October. The defence also conveyed that Murray had instructed them, "at this first opportunity, to apologise to the family of the deceased for his actions."

Reid said he would have a prosecution psychologist on standby once the defence medical report was delivered. Mr Justice Fowler said he would list the case for a progress update in November.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)