UDA killer Mo Courtney found guilty today of assaulting Tracey Coulter

UDA killer Mo Courtney was today (Thursday) found guilty of assaulting a woman in a row over drugs.

Tracey Coulter claimed at Belfast Magistrates Court last week that housebreaker-turned UDA hitman Courtney punched and throttled her earlier this year.

Courtney, 53, was found guilty today of the savage attack on Lower Shankill mum-of-four Tracey Coulter, leaving her with a badly bruised eye and suspected broken nose.

Ms Coulter’s dad, Jackie Coulter, was murdered by the UVF in August 2002 during a feud with the UDA.

The intended target that day was Mo Courtney but the UVF hitman couldn’t find him and turned his sights on Coulter who was sitting in a car with Bobby Mahood who was also murdered.

Grandad Courtney – jailed for eight years for the murder of UDA member Alan ‘Bucky’ McCullough – headbutted his victim, and punched her twice in the face before grabbing her by the throat and threatening to kill her during an altercation at the offices of the publicly funded Lower Shankill Community Association (LSCA).

Ms Coulter made a complaint to police who forwarded a file on the incident to the Public Prosecution Service.

In a reserved judgement, a district judge found Courtney guilty of the assault.

He will be sentenced tomorrow (Friday).

Courtney, from the Glencairn area, has a criminal record which runs to six pages.

These include convictions for manslaughter, robbery, hijacking and disorderly behaviour.