A man was charged tonight over the Bank Holiday murder of Stephen Kavanagh.
Darren Houlden appeared before a special sitting of Bray District Court in Wicklow this evening.
It heard the accused lived at The Crescent, Meadowvale, in Arklow – the estate where the 37-year-old victim was stabbed to death on Monday.
Dressed in a burgundy hoodie, grey tracksuit bottoms and black Nike runners, Houlden was brought into court through a side entrance.
Det Liam Flynn of Wicklow Garda station told the court he formally charged the 42-year-old at 2.45pm today.
He added the accused made no reply when cautioned and the charge sheet was read out to him.
No application for bail was made however, Houlden’s solicitor Padraig Hyland applied for a Section 56 Order, which is a copy of the transcript of Garda interviews.
It was granted by Judge David Kennedy and he also awarded legal aid.
Houlden was remanded in custody to Cloverhill Prison.
The case was adjourned until next Tuesday when he will appear at Cloverhill District Court in Dublin.
Garda forensics teams continued to comb the murder scene for evidence today.
The retired couple who own the house and were away at the time of the fatal attack, arrived this morning and tried to get inside.
They pulled up in a black Nissan Xtrail and wound down the window to speak with a garda who told them the crime scene was still off bounds.
