A 21-YEAR-OLD woman has been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to the Jason McGovern murder investigation.

Detectives from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch confirmed the charges today.

Detained in Omagh yesterday afternoon, the woman is due to appear in Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 29 January.

Five men, aged between 17 and 21, have already appeared in court in connection with the death of the 19-year-old. Another 23-year-old male was arrested on Monday.

A murder investigation was launched in the days after Jason McGovern was found dead at a house in Monaghan on New Year’s Eve morning. It emerged that he had been assaulted twice while on a night out in Omagh, across the border.

Despite the attacks, he made his way home to Emyvale but decided to sleep at a friend’s house. His body was discovered at about 11am on 31 December.

Police believe the 19-year-old encountered a group of men outside the Terrace Bar on John Street in Omagh in the early hours of 31 December and a verbal exchange took place. Punches were thrown and Jason McGovern was hit several times in the head and upper body.

He and a friend walked towards a nearby taxi but were followed by several people from the original group. Jason McGovern was struck again in the face and collapsed to the ground.

A post mortem examination determined that the victim died from a serious head injury sustained in the assaults.

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