Jake Bailey-Sloan
Three people have been charged to court accused of assaulting Jake Bailey-Sloan – the young man who died after being wounded on a night out in Portadown town centre in 2021.
Appearing in court on Wednesday were 25-year-old Ethan Robert Dougan, of Redrock Road, Collone and 22-year-old Odhran Connolly, of Churchill Park, Portadown.
Beth Vernon, 22, of Moyraverty Meadows, Craigavon – also accused – did not appear for the short hearing at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court.
The case was listed for the purposes of a preliminary enquiry, the legal process through which a case is referred to the Crown Court.
The three defendants are charged that on October 17, 2021, they assaulted Jake Bailey-Sloan.
Jake, who was 23 at the time, collapsed in the Mandeville Street area of Portadown a short time after the assaults.
He was taken to hospital in the early hours but died the following day.
At the outset of the hearing, Dougan’s defence lawyer said they were not in a position to proceed with the preliminary enquiry has they had only just received the papers.
Furthermore, Connolly’s defence barrister, David McKeown, suggested that he may potentially contest the committal of Mr Connolly based on the papers.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan adjourned the case to January 22, saying there was a “complexity to the case and a very tragic background”.