Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Major Investigation Team have welcomed the sentence handed down to Steven McBrine at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, 4 May 2022.

McBrine, aged 38, was sentenced to two discretionary life sentences, with a tariff of 11 years before he can be considered for parole, having pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a man and woman in north Belfast in December 2019.

Detective Inspector Sean Armstrong said: “The bodies of 37-year-old Frances Murray and 47-year-old Joseph Dutton were found in a flat in Kinnaird Close on the afternoon of Monday 23 December 2019.

“All three had been together when a verbal altercation began.  This escalated to a very brutal and sustained attack in which two innocent victims were stabbed multiple times.

“This was a senseless, cruel and tragic loss of two lives, leaving two families heartbroken. 

“My thoughts today are with those families, and I know that the sentence imposed will never ease their pain and sorrow.”

Detective Inspector Armstrong added: "We always work tirelessly to bring offenders before the courts, where they will be held to account.”