A COLERAINE man has been remanded in custody charged with attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to his uncle and possessing a hammer.
Matthew Andrew Stirling (25), of Tullyarton Road, appeared at Coleraine Magistrates Court today.
He was found with an offensive weapon on Tuesday, the same day as his 56 year-old uncle was found dead at a property in the Silverthorn Avenue area of the Harpur's Hill estate in Coleraine.
On Wednesday police said the death was no longer being treated as suspicious, following a post-mortem.
Mr Stirling appeared in court today charged with unlawfully attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Doherty.
He faced a second charge of being in possession of an offensive weapon, namely a hammer.
The court heard that when interviewed Mr Stirling strongly denied being in Mr Doherty’s house on the day he died and denied striking him.
The court heard that he would not be applying for bail until after the funeral due to a "certain amount of tension" in the area.
District Judge Liam McNally remanded Mr Stirling into custody until Monday December 19, when he will appear at the same court via videolink.
