A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of County Antrim woman Chloe Mitchell, who was last seen in the town of Ballymena on 3 June.
Brandon John Rainey, 26, appeared via video link at Ballymena magistrates court on Monday a day after detectives found suspected human remains, which have not been formally identified.
Asked if he understood the charge, Rainey replied: “Yeah.” He was remanded in custody until 6 July.
A second man, Ryan Johnston Gordon, 34, also appeared in court charged with attempting to impede justice by concealing evidence around the alleged murder. Asked if he understood the charge he replied: “Yes”.
A police officer told Judge Peter King that police could connect both men with the charges against them.
Mitchell, 21, was last seen on CCTV in the early hours of Saturday 3 June in Ballymena town centre. She was reported missing on 7 June, triggering an extensive search in and around the town, including in vegetation on the banks of the Braid river. The search became a murder investigation after the suspected remains were found.
The court heard that Rainey, of James Street, Ballymena, had significant mental health difficulties and was a paranoid schizophrenic.
The judge remanded Rainey to Maghaberry prison.
Mitchell’s sister Nadine paid tribute to her sibling, saying she was her best friend. “Now you are my special angel,” she wrote in a social media post. “No matter what, our bond will still never ever be broken. You’re safe now in the arms of the angels. I love you and will never stop loving you.”
Nadine promised to look after their parents. “I know you would of wanted me to keep my strength up for them and that’s what I’m doing, sis. Making you proud.”
Ian Paisley, the Democratic Unionist party MP for North Antrim, said the tragedy had cast a terrible shadow over Ballymena. He lauded police and volunteers who searched for Mitchell. “It shows the community spirit,” he told the BBC. “No one wanted to hear that awful news that emerged and the sadness that is there. They worked in hope, but unfortunately that has been put aside now.”
Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s putative first minister, expressed solidarity with Mitchell’s family and said there was need for greater protection for women in Northern Ireland. “Women and girls in this society need to be safe and sadly, we are seeing the horrific reality that this isn’t the case.”
