Police get more time to question murder suspect

Police have been given extra time to question a 39-year-old man after another man was killed in County Armagh.

Christopher ‘Chrissy’ Burns was found dead with serious head and facial injuries at a property in Cusher Green, Mountnorris on Thursday morning.

Originally from Warrenpoint, it is understood Mr Burns, who was in his 40s, had been living in the property for a number of years.

A 36-hour extension was granted by a court on Saturday.

On Friday, Det Ch Insp Gary Robinson said it was a “distressing time” for Mr Burns’ family as they try to come to terms with their “tragic loss”.

He appealed to those with information that could assist the investigation to contact them.

Representatives for the area have described the “sadness and shock” many residents have been feeling.

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member Justin McNulty said “nobody could ever have believed something like this could come to Mountnorris”.

“It’s a continuation of a very frightening trend that we’ve seen over recent weeks where 10 people have lost their lives over the last 10 weeks,” he added.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor Gareth Wilson he was concerned something like this had happened in “a very quiet rural village”.

TUV councillor Keith Ratcliffe said the murder happened at the quieter end of the Cusher Green estate “where a lot of pensioners live”.

Sinn Féin MLA Aoife Finnegan said the community was “understandably shocked and saddened by what has happened”.