// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Chloe Mitchell murder accused 'dismembered body', court told
Chloe Mitchell's body was found in June 2023, about a week after she disappeared
This article contains details that some may find distressing
The man accused of killing Chloe Mitchell murdered her at his house before dismembering her body and disposing of it in wheelie bins, a court has been told.
Brandon Rainey, formerly of James Street, Ballymena, denies murdering the 21-year-old in June 2023 and preventing the lawful burial of her remains.
At Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday morning the prosecution opened its case against Rainey.
Crown barrister David Russell KC told the jury it was the prosecution's case that Chloe Mitchell and Rainey had been in "an on-off relationship" and that he killed her in the early hours of 3 June, sometime between 00:36 and 05:18 BST.
"We say a wealth of evidence will show beyond reasonable doubt that the accused murdered her and disposed of her body in a way that prevented her burial," Russell said.
Jurors were told Chloe Mitchell had significant addiction issues and was last seen alive by two of her friends in the company of Rainey in his flat in James Street shortly before her death.
The court also heard that one of her friends later told police that Rainey had made a comment while they were at his flat that he would "love to chop someone up and melt them in the bath" but then claimed he was joking.
When Chloe Mitchell was discovered to be missing, one of those friends contacted Rainey, who told her she had only stayed about 15 minutes and left after an argument "to go to Belfast to see some fella," the court was told.