A woman who denies deliberately providing false information during the investigation into the murder of Grantham man Tony McDermott today (Thursday) failed to attend a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court.
Julie Kavanagh, 52, is to stand trial in September charged with doing acts intended to pervert the course of public justice between October 20 2023 and January 31 2024.
Ms Kavanagh, of Avenue Road, Grantham, was due to appear at Lincoln Crown Court on January 2 for a pre-trial hearing but failed to attend in person.
Tony McDermott.
Sarah Allen, representing the Crown Prosecution Service, asked for an arrest warrant to be issued to secure Ms Kavanagh’s attendance at court.
But Judge Simon Hirst refused the application and adjourned the case for a further hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on February 13 when Ms Kavanagh will have to attend.
Ms Kavanagh is due to go on trial at Lincoln Crown Court on September 1. The trial is expected to last four days.
Father-of-six Tony McDermott, 38, was stabbed 51 times by Nicholas Ward in October 2023.
Ward, who had been friends with Mr McDermott, was convicted of murder and jailed for a minimum of 20 years in May last year.
Jurors heard Ward “tortured” Mr McDermott after falsely accusing him of stealing his computer.