LAST UPDATE | 26 Dec 2019

PSNI forensic officers on the second floor apartment on Kinnaird Close, Belfast. Liam McBurney Liam McBurney

A MAN CHARGED with the pre-Christmas murder of two people at a Belfast flat has made “full admissions” to police, a detective has told a court.

On Monday, the bodies of a man and a woman were found in an apartment in Kinnaird Close in north Belfast following a report from a member of the public.

The PSNI has named the victims as 37-year-old Frances Murray and 47-year-old Joseph Dutton.

Local sources said it is understood that they suffered stab wounds.

Steven Arthur Andre McBrine, 35, appeared in the dock in handcuffs at Belfast’s Laganside Magistrates’ Court on this morning flanked by prison officers, but did not speak.

Defence solicitor Denis Moloney said McBrine lived in close proximity to the deceased and had been drinking with them that day before a dispute arose.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective inspector said the defendant had made “full admissions”.

He added he could connect the accused to the two murder charges.

“This is a great tragedy, particularly at this time of year,” Moloney said.

He said his client had been “fully co-operative” during police interview and gave a “full and quite frank” account.

Several nearby homes were evacuated throughout the major police operation in Kinnaird Close.

District judge George Conner refused the accused, also from Kinnaird Close, bail.

He will appear in court again on 23 January.

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