A MAN has appeared in a Derry court charged with murder following a “brutal, sectarian” attack in 2006, which left the victim in a vegetative state for nine years.
Piper John McClements, 24, from the Fountain area of Derry, was granted bail at the city’s magistrates court.
Paul McCauley, a 38-year-old Catholic, spent almost a decade in a coma after being attacked by up to 15 loyalists at a barbecue in the Waterside area of the city on July 16, 2006.
The former civil servant died in a care home facility last month. In court, McClements made no reply to the charge that he murdered Mr McCauley on June 6, 2015.
District judge John Meehan said: “This is a matter of acute public concern, one of the most brutal, sectarian attacks in a long catalogue.”
Mr McCauley, a father-of-one, was 29 when he went to the barbecue. As the event was finishing and clearing up had begun, the gang attacked him, causing severe head injuries.
The district judge said: “There are, disturbingly, and to this day, many others who were involved in the brutal circumstances leading to the death of the unfortunate victim.”
A PSNI detective constable said she would be able to connect the accused to the charge.
She told the court that the accused was formerly known as Daryl Procter and had previously pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mr McCauley, and served a sentence. It was while serving this sentence that he changed his name to Piper John McClements.
The PSNI detective opposed bail on the grounds his release may stop witnesses coming forward with vital information and evidence to assist the murder investigation.
She also expressed her views to the court that if he were not remanded in custody he could interfere with persons and the course of justice.
The detective constable also raised concerns about the defendant’s personal safety.
She told the court that Mr McCauley suffered a serious head injury in July 2006, never regained consciousness, and subsequently died on June 6 this year.
However defence lawyer Don Mahoney raised the question of whether or not the injuries that were sustained back in 2006 were in fact the cause of death.
He also said that his client had already accepted responsibility for his part in this case and he would not benefit from interfering with anyone.
McClements was released on bail of £500 and a surety of £600 and was ordered to reside at his Fountain home, not to drink alcohol in pubs and to observe a night-time curfew.
He is due to reappear before Derry Magistrates Court on August 13.
