Forensics officers at Derry's Harvey Street following the death of Montserrat Elias in August 2024 PICTURE: MARGARET MCLAUGHLINDerry Magistrate’s Court has heard it is hoped to fix a date for a preliminary enquiry in the case of a man charged with the murder of a 65-year-old woman in the city. Ciaran Murray (29) of Gortfoyle Place in Derry, is charged with the murder of Montserrat Elias on August 24 last year. He is also charged with rape and arson on the same date after Ms Elias’ body was found in a burning house in Harvey Street. At Thursday’s hearing, defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said it had been hoped that date for a preliminary enquiry could have been fixed that day but that was not now going to happen. He said it was a case involving “a large raft of evidence” and so he now hoped that a date could be fixed in six weeks time.