Marion Millican Gun 'Thrown In Ditch'

The shotgun used to kill a woman at the Portstewart launderette where she worked was thrown into a ditch afterwards, a court has heard.

A witness in the trial of Fred McClenaghan, 49, said the accused told her he had shot somebody and that he threw the gun in a ditch.

Mr McClenaghan, of Broad Street Magherafelt, denies murdering his former lover Marion Millican and has claimed it was a suicide bid gone wrong.

Antrim Crown Court heard evidence yesterday from the older sister of an ex-lover of Mr McClenaghan's.

Sheila Donnelly said the accused came to her workplace on March 11 – the day Mrs Millican died – and said: "I have shot a girl".

When she pressed for further information he told her it had happened in Portstewart and he had thrown the gun in a ditch.

Mr McClenaghan said he had carried a gun to the launderette with the intention of speaking to Mrs Millican, and his gun had gone off accidentally in a struggle, the court heard.

Ms Donnelly told him he would not be searched, she said, as he had once told her he had been abused by a police officer as a child.

In a prepared statement which was read out in court last week, Mr McClenaghan said: "I didn't intend to harm Marion... Marion's death was an accident and I am truly sorry."

The trial continues.

(NE)