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A 33-year-old man has appeared in court, accused of murdering a mother of four in Lisburn almost two years ago.

John David Gary Scott, from Finch Gardens in Lisburn, faces three other charges in addition to the murder of Natasha Melendez.

Ms Melendez, who was 32 and originally from Venezuela, was attacked on 22 March 2020 and died of her injuries on 1 April that year.

The defendant was remanded into custody after the court hearing on Friday.

He appeared at Lisburn Magistrates' Court by videolink from Magilligan Prison.

As well as the murder charge, he is accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Ms Melendez with intent in February 2020 and causing her actual bodily harm in December 2019 and February 2020.

Giving evidence to the court, a detective said Mr Scott was initially arrested and questioned in the time between the assault and Ms Melendez's death but the Northern Ireland Prison Service refused to release the defendant into the custody of the police for further interviews.

The detective said that as a result of the coronavirus pandemic it was not until last week that investigators were able to conduct further interviews with the accused.

The detective said police had wanted to keep him overnight but were only allowed to hold him between 10:00 and 17:00 over the course of three days.

The judge described the stance of the Prison Service as "shocking".

A defence solicitor told the court his client "has been waiting for almost two years and throughout that period he has wanted this matter dealt with".

The case was adjourned until 14 February.