Court hears Belfast stabbing victim in ‘induced coma’

A man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder over the stabbing of another man near the Big Fish statue in Belfast city centre.

The victim, 34-year-old Stephen Burns – was stabbed in the neck on Thursday evening and remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Belfast Magistrate’s Court heard on Saturday that he is being kept in an induced coma.

The accused, 29-year-old Mark Elliott from Boyd Street in the city, appeared before the court via video-link from police custody.

He is charged with attempted murder, and two drug offences – possession of a Class C drug, namely pregabalin, and possession with intent to supply.

The Public Prosecution Service withdrew a charge of possessing a bladed article in public.

A detective constable told the court he believed he could connect Elliott to the charges against him.

The officer outlined to the court how police were called to Donegall Quay just after 9.30pm, where they found the victim.

He was said to have been “on the ground bleeding profusely from a severe cut on the neck, being attended to by paramedics and members of the public”.

District Judge Mark McGarrity asked if the two men knew each other, but the officer told him that, with the victim in an induced coma and unable to speak, it was “hard to determine”.

The court heard that witnesses told police the two men had been having a conversation when it “became aggressive and an altercation resulted in the suspect stabbing the injured party in the neck.”

The court further heard that the area is “covered extensively” by CCTV.

The detective constable described how footage showed the accused drinking with others when the victim was dropped off by car.

“There’s a conversation and there’s a bit of shuffling as if there’s an exchange of an item,” the officer said, adding that the men “seem to square up”.

The footage allegedly shows Elliott striking the victim twice – the second time, the victim falls to the ground while Elliott walks off towards the harbour estate, according to the officer.

The court heard that CCTV showed the accused sitting on a bench at one stage, and that a fingerprint matching Elliott’s had been retrieved by Crime Scene Investigators.

The officer further told the court that, when the accused was arrested at his home, police found the pregabalin.

“The quantity would lead police to believe that the defendant is involved in the supply of drugs,” the officer claimed.

District Judge McGarrity refused to release Elliott on bail on the grounds that there was “no suitable accommodation” for him.

“There’s a risk that, should he reside at the proposed bail address, there would be interference with the complainant when he is ultimately, one hopes, released or discharged from hospital,” the judge said.

Elliott was remanded into custody and the case adjourned until 24 July.