Man appears in court accused of killing sister and trying to murder her daughter in Portadown fire

A 25-year-old man has appeared in court accused of murdering his sister and trying to kill her daughter in a house fire in Portadown.

Appearing at Lisburn Magistrates Court by videolink from police custody on Saturday, Kornelijus Bracas was charged with the murder of Alesia Nazarova and trying to kill her 12-year-old daughter earlier this week.

Bracas, from Church Street in the Co Down town, was also charged with arson of the house he shared with his sister with intent to endanger life and theft of her bank card on the same date.

The 37-year-old mother-of-one, who reportedly recently moved to Northern Ireland from Eastern Europe, was found dead after a house fire on Church Street in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Her daughter was rushed to hospital but has since been discharged.

It is understood she is now in the care of her aunt, with a charity group raising funds and accepting donations to help her in the aftermath of the blaze, which they said left her with “nothing”.

In court, PSNI Detective Inspector Armstrong said he believed he could connect Bracas to each of the offences.

While a prosecuting lawyer told the court he was seeking a four week adjournment while investigators prepare a full file, defence solicitor Gabriel Ingram confirmed there was no application for bail.

Bracas, who was wearing a grey jumper and had his left arm in a sling, was remanded in custody to appear again by videolink on Friday 21 April at Craigavon Courthouse.

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