Police began a murder investigation tonight after a teenager grievously injured in an assault in Derry died in hospital.
Don McMenamin (19) who suffered serious head injuries after being struck with a blunt instrument in the Rosemount area of the city, died in Altnagelvin Hospital at 3pm.
He had been on a life support since the attack in the early hours of Sunday. A 30-year-old man appeared at Londonderry Magistrates Court yesterday charged with attempting to murder the teenager.
Mr Daniel Kerr, who is unemployed and from Ballymore Park in the Creggan area of the city, denied the charge. He could face fresh charges after the teenager's death.
A spokeswoman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: "The charges against the suspect are now being reviewed. It is now a murder investigation."
A woman, who was also arrested, has been released pending a report to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr McMenamin's family had been maintaining a vigil around his hospital bedside since the attack took place.
According to police the victim tried to stop a fight which had broken out after young people returned to the city after a night out in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
PA