Murder victim was '˜stamped on repeatedly'

A Co Down window cleaner 'repeatedly stamped' on his victim's head while he lay on the ground after an altercation, a court heard yesterday.
Richard Hugh Jackie Dalzell pleaded guilty to Mark Lamonts murderRichard Hugh Jackie Dalzell pleaded guilty to Mark Lamonts murder
Richard Hugh Jackie Dalzell pleaded guilty to Mark Lamonts murder

Richard Hugh Jackie Dalzell, 37, of Whinpark in Newtownards, pleaded guilty last month to the murder of Mark Lamont, 54, in Coleraine almost 17 months ago.

Dalzell is currently serving a mandatory life sentence and at Belfast Crown Court yesterday, a tariff hearing was held to determine how long he would spend in prison before being able to apply for parole.

Prosecution counsel Ciaran Murphy QC told the court that at 1am on September 26, 2016, police attended the scene at Ballycastle Road, Coleraine, after Mr Lamont was found “lying in blood” on the ground.

The victim was first taken to the nearby Causeway Hospital in a critical condition before being transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital. He never regained consciousness and died on October 11, 2016.

During the altercation between the two men, a neighbour told police she saw the defendant “jumping up and down” on Mr Lamont’s head.

When Dalzell saw her on her phone to police, he shouted at her: “I’m in the UDA. You saw nothing.”

The senior prosecutor said that victim impact reports from the deceased’s two sons along with Mr Lamont’s partner who he had a child to, showed the “serious impact” the death had on them “now and forever effectively”.

Defence counsel Martin O’Rourke told Mr Justice Colton the attack “was not pre-planned or premeditated ... there was no intention to kill”, adding as result of the attack Dalzell had been “diagnosed as suffering from PTSD”.

Mr Justice Colton said he wanted to consider “a lot of material put before him” and would give his tariff ruling next Wednesday, April 18.