A 41-year-old man who murdered, dismembered and dumped another man's body in a reservoir in Co Tyrone has been sentenced to a minimum of 24 years.
Stephen McCourt, from Riverview, Augher in Co Tyrone, was found guilty of murdering 47-year-old Damien Heagney following a trial which ended in April this year.
Mr Heagney, from Cookstown, was last seen alive at the end of December 2021.
He was reported missing in July 2022 and his partially dismembered remains were recovered from Cappagh reservoir the following month.
Mr Justice Stephen Fowler told Belfast Crown Court the dismemberment was "callous in the extreme" and added greatly to his family's distress, in particular the victim's mother.
He also said the disposal of Mr Heagney's body in the reservoir was an additional step taken to "conceal, destroy evidence, cover the murder and subvert police investigation".
The family of Mr Heagney said the actions that led to his death were "depraved".
A family statement said: "The last few years have been torturous for our family.
"No one should ever have to deal with the heartache of losing a son and a brother, yet we have to wake up every single morning knowing that Damien was murdered."
The statement said Mr Heagney's "life was taken so cruelly", adding "the actions that followed were depraved - more than we can ever begin to express".
'Brutal beyond comprehension'
A senior Police Service of Northern Ireland officer said Mr Heagney's murder was a "senseless loss of a life".
Speaking following the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson said: "It was a murder made even more disturbing by the way in which Mr Heagney's body was subsequently dismembered, concealed in a number of packages and ultimately disposed of in a reservoir.
"These actions were callous, cruel and brutal beyond comprehension."
Ms Wilson said the exact cause of death "has never been determined due to the decomposition of his remains, the post-mortem did identify possible stab wounds to his head, neck, arms and legs".
She added that Mr Heagney's family "have suffered unimaginably, yet have managed to show remarkable dignity and patience throughout this entire process".
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