Plans to extradite the only suspect in the murder of west Belfast woman Jennifer Dornan have been put on hold again after a second drug overdose just hours before the accused was to appear in court.
Raymond O'Neill (37), with a previous address in Summerhill Walk, Dunmurry, was to face extradition proceedings in Dublin yesterday.
The court hearing had been delayed for more than a year after the accused took a near fatal overdose in his cell in the Midlands prison in October last year, again on the morning of an extradition hearing.
He spent several weeks on life support but made a recovery.
He appeared at several court hearings in a wheelchair before finally being considered medically fit to participate in the extradition process.
The 30-year-old mother of three was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife in August 2015 before her Lagmore home was set alight in what detectives believe was an attempt to destroy evidence.
The murder shocked the community came forward in record numbers to give witness statements and helped trace the suspect's movements on the night of August 2, 2015, when Ms Dornan was murdered following a night out with friends.
O'Neill was arrested in Bundoran, Co Donegal a week later and has remained in custody in the Republic since.
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service confirmed that O'Neill was rushed to hospital yesterday from his cell.
