A Belfast man is to stand trial accused of beating his partner to death, a judge ordered today.
Jamie Love, 24, has been charged with murdering Kathryn Parton at their home in the east of the city.
His mother, Suzanne Love, and a third defendant, Reece Oliver, will also face prosecution for allegedly helping him flee the scene after the killing.
The three accused were told they each have a case to answer at trial at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.
Ms Parton’s body was found in the blood-stained bedroom of the house at Madrid Street in May last year.
Post-mortem examinations established that the 34-year-old, known as Kat, died from haemorrhaging, lacerations to the scalp and nasal fractures following a sustained assault to the head which involved no weapons.
Detectives believe she lay undiscovered for six days until her father went to the property amid concerns for wellbeing.
Jamie Love, who had been in a relationship with Ms Parton, was charged with her murder based on CCTV and witness evidence.
He also faces further counts of non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and causing unnecessary suffering to a pet dog at the house.
His 44-year-old mother, from Isoline Street in Belfast, is accused of helping to clear up the scene in the aftermath of the fatal attack.
She has been charged with doing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice by removing items from the property and assisting an offender.
Prosecutors claim Suzanne Love aided her son’s efforts to flee and then obtain alternative accommodation.
Oliver, 23, of Glasgow Street in Belfast, faces a similar charge of assisting an offender.
He drove Suzanne Love to the Madrid Street property to help her son pack up and move out on the night Ms Parton is believed to have been killed, previous courts heard.
The three defendants were then seen on footage leaving the house again with belongings and a dog.
Jamie Love and Oliver spent the next two nights at B&Bs in Strabane and Portaferry allegedly booked and paid for by Suzanne Love.
She initially claimed Ms Parton had been sitting on the floor, crying but unhurt, while she was at the house.
According to police, two bloodied footprints discovered on a duvet close to the victim’s body suggests that more than one person was present either during or after the victim was attacked.
One was said to be an Ugg boot similar to those worn by Suzanne Love, while a print which allegedly matched Nike trainers worn by her son was also found at the scene.
The same type of footwear subsequently seized from Suzanne Love’s home had been freshly washed and placed outside to dry.
During initial interviews she provided a statement denying any knowledge about the victim’s death and then provided no comment to questions.
However, in a further statement after evidence about the Ugg print and cleaning of footwear was put to her, Suzanne Love told police she accompanied Oliver to Madrid Street to help Jamie Love pack up and leave because he had fallen out with Ms Parton.
Oliver, who is currently on bail, attended court for today’s preliminary enquiry hearing, while the mother and son appeared remotely from custody.
All three confirmed that they understood the charges against them, but declined to give evidence or call witnesses at this stage.
Prosecutors submitted that a prima facie case has been established against each of the defendants.
Granting the Crown’s application, District Judge Alan White confirmed: “They will be returned for trial at Belfast Crown Court on a date to be fixed.”
