Portadown man accused of murdering his three-year-old son is remanded in custody after breaching bail

Lisburn Magistrates Court heard that 28-year-old Craig Rowland from Millington Park in Portadown is on bail of charges of the murder and manslaughter of his infant son Lewis Oliver Rowland who died on October 20, 2018.

But despite having a condition that he is to reside at his home address, the alleged killer had travelled to Wales to visit relatives.

A detective sergeant told the court how police in Wales had received a tip-off on Wednesday that Rowland was at an address there.

When officers spoke to him, Rowland initially claimed he was not subject to any bail conditions but he eventually admitted that he was and following that, the PSNI were alerted to the situation.

Both Rowland and the child’s mother Laura Graham, 31, from the same address, have admitted a charge of child cruelty in that having custody, charge or care of Lewis, they allegedly wilfully neglected the child on November 20, 2015 “in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health”.

In court on Monday the detective sergeant told District Judge Rosie Watters that she was objecting to Rowland being freed on bail again due to concerns that he would abscond.

“He faces a lengthy custodial sentence if he is convicted,” said the detective, highlighting that despite knowing his bail condition Rowland had travelled to Wales without permission and then “deliberately lied to police”.

Defence counsel Conor Lunny told the court that Rowland is from Wales originally and the majority of his family still live there.

The court was told that on February 6, Rowland “went to visit his elderly granny who is undergoing cancer treatment”.

Emphasising that Rowland has attended all other court hearings, the barrister told the judge the alleged killer “has been on bail without incident for the best part of a year”.

Although he conceded that Rowland should have told his legal team of his travel intentions so that a proper bail variation application could have been made, Mr Lunny respectively suggested that given Rowland’s adherence to bail thus far, “such an application may well have been granted”.

District Judge Watters said given the fact Rowland is on Crown Court bail, “I think that a Crown Court judge should make the decision.”

“It’s such a serious offence and there’s only one condition that he didn’t keep to it,” said the judge who concluded that she as refusing bail because “I’m concerned about him not turning up for trial.”