Delay in Castlerock gas deaths case
At North Antrim Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Monday) a solicitor for George Brown of Ballygawley Road, told the court that it may be June before a Preliminary Inquiry date can be fixed.
Brown faces manslaughter charges following the deaths of two 18-year-olds who perished after being overcome by the deadly gas at an apartment in Castlerock in August 2010.
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Hide AdNeil McFerran and Aaron Davidson were found in the property by their parents who raced from their homes in Newtownabbey when they were unable to contact the young men who had been enjoying a break ahead of receiving their exam results. Their friend, Matthew Gaw, who was also in the seaside apartment at the time, survived.
51-year-old Brown was not present in the court yesterday.
He also faces 15 counts of failure to protect non-employees, being unqualified to carry out work, failing to ensure competency, installing a gas appliance to an unacceptable standard and failure to test a gas appliance connection.
Defence solicitor Garrett Greene asked for the case to be adjourned until June 3, to allow time to identify the witnesses that will be needed for the PI. He said that there were over 300 witnesses, but added that not all of them would be needed for the hearing.