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Man in court charged with murder of woman in Cork

RTÉ Joe Butler, being escorted by two men in suits who are holding him by the arms. He is wearing a dark coloured hooded jumper and behind him is a stone wall. RTÉ
Joe Butler appeared before a district court in County Cork this morning

A 42-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a woman in Mallow, County Cork last week.

Joe Butler, of the Belfry in Mallow, was arrested on Tuesday following the discovery of the body of 31-year-old Paula Canty.

Gardaí (Irish police) began investigating after they received a call alerting them to an incident on Friday.

The court heard Mr Butler initially made no reply to the charge, but insisted a short time later that he was not guilty.

Social media A woman with long brown hair is smiling with her mouth closed. Her head is turned away from the camera. She has a pair of sunglasses resting on top of her head. Social media
Paula Canty's body was discovered after police received a report of an incident on Friday

A detective sergeant gave evidence of arresting Mr Butler just after 03:30 local time on Thursday and charging him with the murder of Ms Canty.

She said this was a case where the defendant was not entitled to apply for bail in the district court.

Judge Colm Roberts said he was taking it that Mr Butler was contesting the charge against him. He granted him free legal aid and remanded him in custody.

He will appear before Mallow District Court via video link next Tuesday.