At-large killer returned to prison after extradition

A convicted murderer who absconded from Magilligan Prison in County Londonderry while on day release last December has been returned to custody after his extradition from the Republic of Ireland.

James Meehan, 56, was given a minimum 14-year life sentence in 2009 for the murder of father-of-four Jim McFadden in the Shantallow area of Londonderry in 2007.

Meehan appeared before Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, on Tuesday afternoon on foot of an extradition arrest warrant.

A search was launched for Meehan after he failed to return to prison following an unaccompanied day release on 9 December 2024.

While he had served his tariff, at the time he absconded Meehan was on licence for a previous offence of being unlawfully at large.

In court on Tuesday, a detective constable gave evidence that he had signed and endorsed the back of the warrant for the arrest of the 56-year-old.

The police officer and a public prosecutor told District Judge Nigel Broderick that the application was for the judge to grant Meehan's committal back into custody to serve out the rest of that licence period.

The prosecutor also confirmed that a summons in relation to a charge of being unlawfully at large would be served on Meehan and his solicitor.

Jim McFadden, 42, died from a ruptured heart when he was repeatedly punched in the chest by Meehan after returning home to Derry following a wedding reception for Mr McFadden's sister-in-law in Donegal.

In February 2024 at Craigavon Crown Court, Meehan was handed a nine-month prison sentence for being unlawfully at large.

In court on Tuesday, the judge granted the application to have Meehan remanded back into custody.