Detectives investigating the murder of teenager Wendy McAteer in Limavady, Co Derry, on Wednesday night were yesterday granted an extra 36 hours to continue to question a 30-year-old man who is in custody.
The extension application was made at the Magistrate's Court in Derry by Det Insp David McConville, the senior investigating officer in charge of the murder inquiry.
Ms McAteer's body was found in a laneway at Blackburn Path in Limavady on Wednesday night. She had sustained serious head injuries.
Det Insp McConville said the suspect had been interviewed five times over a three-and-a-half hour period.
The police witness told resident magistrate Barney McElholm that further interviews would be required after the results of a postmortem examination.
He said that the results of forensic tests would not be available until today.
Det Insp McConville said several witnesses had yet to be interviewed.
One of them, he said, was a woman whom he described as "a key witness".
He also confirmed that CCTV recordings were being examined as part of the murder investigation.
The resident magistrate granted the extension application.
It means that the suspect must either be charged or released tonight.