A 42-YEAR-OLD convicted murderer is to appear in court in Derry today charged with offences relating to his failure to attend his murder trial last week.
Last Wednesday James Meehan, together with his wife Brenda and his stepson Seán Devenney, was found guilty of murdering father of four Jim McFadden in Derry in May 2007.
However, the day before the jurors returned their verdicts, Meehan failed to turn up in court and Judge Barney McCloskey issued a warrant for his arrest.
Last Friday Ita McFadden, the widow of murder victim Jim McFadden, appealed for Meehan to turn himself in.
Meehan, who was found guilty of murdering Mr McFadden as a primary party and his wife and stepson who were found guilty of murder as secondary parties, each received mandatory life sentences. A tariff hearing to determine the length of the time they will spend in jail is to be held in September.
Meehan, who had been a fugitive for four days, voluntarily handed himself over to the PSNI in Derry on Saturday accompanied by his solicitor Séamus Quigley.