Woman charged with murdering her partner in park

A 50-year-old homeless woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of her partner in Newry city centre.

Igors Gavrilovs, who was 40, died on Saturday, having sustained a serious injury in the Fisher Park area of the city.

Zivile Geringiene is accused of killing him, with the offence aggravated by reason of domestic violence.

The defendant was put on remand with the case adjourned until 23 July.

In the dock of Armagh Magistrates Court, sitting in Newry, Ms Geringiene confirmed her name, date of birth and that she understood the charge through a Lithuanian interpreter.

No details of the alleged offence were presented to the court and no bail application was made.

A friend of Ms Geringiene waved to her from the public gallery.

Fisher Park is a small parcel of green space that sits between the Buttercrane Shopping Centre, Newry Canal and Dublin Road.

It is named after the Fisher family who were synonymous with trade and shipping in the Newry area.

In recent years the local maritime association has added artwork and information panels highlighting these connections.

Their aim was to create what they called a small "green lung" in the centre of a busy city.

But for the last number of months the small parklet has seen a number of tents appear.

One local businessman told BBC News NI he believed there were three tents in Fisher Park and about six people living there.

There have been complaints about the increasingly untidy nature of the park with rubbish and sanitation concerns raised.

Other local business people have spoken of their concern in recent weeks about how the issue should be addressed.

Following Mr Gavrilov's death those tents have been removed and work is ongoing to tidy the park.

Candles and a small bouquet of flowers can be seen at the park's entrance.