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A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty to the murder of his partner in Newry, County Down, almost two years ago.

David Lukasz Mietus, of Drumlane Park, Newry, had previously pleaded not guilty to the murder of Patrycja Wyrebek on 2 August 2020.

The Polish national had been due to stand trial next month.

At Belfast Crown Court on Friday, his defence counsel told the judge he had an application to have Mietus re-arraigned on a single count of murder.

When the clerk of the court put the charge of murder to him, the defendant replied through an interpreter: "Yes, I plead guilty."

Following his guilty plea, Mr Justice O'Hara said: "Mr Mietus, you have now pleaded guilty to the murder of Ms Wyrebek.

"As a result, I am imposing on you a sentence of life imprisonment.

"The next stage of the case will be be that on 27 May 2022, I will hear submissions and I will then set the minimum period you are to serve in prison before you are considered for release."

At the request of the defence, Mr Justice O'Hara ordered a pre-sentence report to be compiled ahead of the tariff hearing next month.

The prosecution counsel said he would be submitting to the court written material, including victim impact statements, on behalf of the members of the deceased's family.

Following the brief hearing, Mietus was remanded back into custody.

No details were given in court on Friday about the circumstance surrounding the murder.

But when Mietus first appeared before Newry Magistrates' Court charged with the murder, in August 2020, it was alleged Ms Wyrebek had died during a consensual sex act.

At the time, a defence barrister said Mietus' account of the death was that both he and Ms Wyrebek had been drinking wine and vodka, and that Ms Wyrebek had become "unresponsive".

He said the death was "entirely accidental, a tragic case in which there was no intention to kill or cause serious harm".