Man charged with murder and 'child destruction' after pregnant mum found dead
Sarah Montgomery, 27, died at a house in Donaghadee, County Down, on Saturday.
The mother-of-two was given medical treatment by paramedics just after 2.15pm but was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man, 28, was arrested on suspicion of murder over the weekend and was today charged with murder and child destruction.
He is due to appear before Newtownards Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
Police also arrested a 42-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting an offender but she was released unconditionally.
Sarah was described in tributes left outside her home as a 'beautiful, kind and wonderful mother'.
The charity Donaghadee Lifeboat said Sarah was a 'highly regarded' member of the fundraising branch. More Trending
It said in a post on Facebook that Sarah's family has ties to Donaghadee RNLI, with her own mother, Linda, being a volunteer fundraiser.
The post added: 'We extend our deepest sympathies to Sarah's children, siblings, grandparents, and wider family and friends. Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.'
Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill said her death captures the 'epidemic' of violence women and girls face.
She told the Northern Ireland Assembly today: 'Another young mother, her life being taken.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
‘She was the best mummy with the biggest heart': Crowds gather at Donaghadee vigil for Sarah Montgomery
The 27-year-old – who was around 34 weeks pregnant with a baby boy – was found dead at her home in the Elmfield Walk area of Donaghadee on Saturday afternoon. Earlier today, Zak Hughes (28), of Ardglen Place, Belfast, appeared at Newtownards Magistrates Court charged with Ms Montgomery's murder and destroying the life of her unborn child. This evening, the local community are holding a vigil for Ms Montgomery, in collaboration with the North Down & Ards Women's Aid group. Beginning at 6.30pm, mourners gathered at the Donaghadee Resource Centre and walked the short distance to Ms Montgomery's home. Attendees were encouraged to wear anything with the colour purple. Ainslie White, Ms Montgomery's best friend, told the crowd that her two daughters 'will be the most protected wee girls ever'. She also described Ms Montgomery as having "the biggest heart" and someone that "absolutely loved band season". She asked mourners to raised a glass and think of her friend on the Twelfth next week. "Sarah was the best mummy and she couldn't wait to make her family complete with her little boy," said Ms White. 'I had been lucky enough to attend her gender scan with her, where her daughters were unsure whether they wanted a baby brother or a baby sister... Once they found out it was a boy, they were more than happy because then they wouldn't have to share their stuff with him. "I hope Sarah knew how much she was loved, and I don't even have the words to begin how to describe Sarah as a friend. "I was honoured to call her my best friend and my sister at the same time. "Sarah was the kind of girl to leave you 10-minute voice note... She never failed to put a smile on your face. She was a girl's girl and she had your back, through and through. "She was there for absolutely everybody and it had been an honour to have her in all of our lives." A spokesperson for the Beechfield Community Well-being Centre, stated: 'Sarah is not just a statistic, Sarah was a mummy, a sister, a granddaughter and a friend, she deserves to be remembered in a dignified manner.' A fundraiser set up in memory of Ms Montgomery has raised over £40,000 as of today. The organisers said that Ms Montgomery's wider family had been 'left bereft of the care and support' she had provided. The statement added: 'Donations will not ease the pain that this family will have to live with forever but as a close knit community, we are keen to show them that they are so loved and supported at this sad time and in the days, months and years to come. 'Violence against women will not be tolerated in our community. We must stand together to ensure that this will never happens again.'
Metro
5 hours ago
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Woman abandoned at birth meets dad who 'never knew she existed' 24 years later
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A woman who was abandoned as a newborn has found her birth father with the help of ITV show Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace. Sarah Meyer was left in the stairwell of a Surrey car park in 2001 and is now the youngest person to search for a relative on the show, which is hosted by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell. Shortly after Sarah was abandoned, she appeared on ITV's This Morning as a newborn baby in a bid to track down her parents. Dubbed the 'Baby in Pink' due to the pink towel she was wrapped in, Sarah was on the show with police sergeant Wendy Whiting, who was the first officer on the scene when she was found. Judy Finnegan, who hosted This Morning at the time alongside Richard Madely, told viewers: 'This little sprog was abandoned in a multi-story car park. She was barely an hour old, weighing just 7lbs.' But despite the public appeal, Sarah's parents never came forward. She was adopted at the age of three months by Jo and Pierre, who already had another adopted daughter, Jess. 24 years later, Sarah, who has a degree in cyber security and now lives in Northern Ireland with her girlfriend, is returning to TV screens in tonight's episode of Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace. On the show, she was able to find out more about her birth parents after DNA tracing located them. 'I'd like an explanation because it is something that is missing…to know where I come from…why was I abandoned?' Sarah says in the episode, during which she returns to the car park where she was found for the first time. After she was found, police sent infant Sarah straight to the hospital, where nursing staff took her under their wing. 'I was named Caroline after the nurse who looked after me, and Pembrooke after my car park. It's like a little secret identity of mine. It's a part of my history, which is very important to me. Even with my name now, my middle name is Caroline,' Sarah reveals. From a box of police evidence, Sarah reads a letter sent to the police ten days after she was found: 'Please look after my little girl. I love her so much, but just can't cope with another baby. Thank you to all the police officers involved, hospital staff, and the members of the public for their help. Thank you.' The Long Lost Family team managed to track down Sarah's birth mother, who was in her late teens when Sarah was born, but she did not wish to appear in the episode. Sarah says: 'It's good to hear that she's at least alive and is out there. It leaves the door open for her to come and meet me if she wants to. And I'll never close that door…I want her to see that I've lived a good life, and I want her to see that I'm not angry with her.' However, Sarah's father was keen to meet her. He had no idea that she had been born, and wondered if his late mother would have seen her granddaughter and not known it, as she'd worked at the hospital unit where Sarah was taken to. His identity is obscured in the episode to protect Sarah's birth mother. He explains it's been hard to process both that he didn't know about Sarah and that he wasn't there for her, adding that he was 'a bit of a lad back then' and that his encounter with Sarah's birth mother was brief. Long Lost Family host Nicky Campbell told Sarah's father about her adoption, and he noticed the resemblance between them after being shown a photograph. On Monday, Sarah returned to This Morning to give hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard an update after she met her birth father. Watching a clip from her appearance on the show in 2001, she said: 'It was crazy seeing that again and being back here…It's insane, full circle, because I've been able to find my birth parents.' She added that she'd always known her story, revealing that her foster parents had shown her clips and newspaper articles from her past. 'Any questions I've had, they answered,' she said, 'I love them for that.' Discussing her motivation for appearing on Long Lost Family, Sarah said that as well as wanting answers about her past: 'I wanted to show who is out there that I had a good life…I wanted to show them that I am ok.' More Trending And speaking about her birth father, she revealed: 'The fact that me and him are so alike is insane… for him to welcome me into his family the way he did was insane.' Meanwhile, Sarah reiterated that 'the door is always open' for her birth mother to get in touch. 'I've had 24 years of being able to process my story. She's had just this short amount of time to process it, so it's gonna be a long time and I understand that, and I will give her that time,' she said. View More » Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace airs tonight at 9pm on ITV1. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Who are the Women's Euro 2025 presenters, pundits and commentators? MORE: This Morning star, 52, gives birth two weeks after devastating family loss MORE: Cheryl 'in talks to make major TV return with famous pal' after 5 years
The Independent
9 hours ago
- The Independent
Man remanded in custody charged with murder of Sarah Montgomery
A 28-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of pregnant mother-of-two Sarah Montgomery in Co Down. Zak Hughes, from Ardglen Place in Belfast, was also charged with child destruction during a brief appearance at Newtownards Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. Dressed in a grey tracksuit, he stood in the dock and nodded when asked if he understood the charges. A PSNI detective chief inspector told the court he could connect Hughes to the offences. No facts of the case were laid out and there was no application for bail. The date of the offences given on court papers was June 27. District Judge Conor Heaney remanded Hughes in custody until July 30. Ms Montgomery, 27, died at her home in Donaghadee. Floral tributes have been left outside her house in Elmfield Walk. A 42-year-old woman, who was arrested in Belfast on suspicion of assisting an offender, was released unconditionally on Tuesday. The death of Ms Montgomery has led to renewed focus on the rate of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland. She was the 27th adult woman to be killed in Northern Ireland since 2020.
