Prosecutors are a step closer to bringing a murder suspect back to Bermuda to face trial.

Patrick Stamp lost his appeal against a UK court order to extradite him last week at the Court of Appeal.

Previously Mr Stamp had appeared at Westminster Magistrate’s Court in England where a judge had ruled his extradition to Bermuda was legal.

However, the 29-year-old appealed against the decision to the Court of Appeal and appeared before two judges; Elias LJ and Hickinbottom J, in the Divisional Court last Friday.

The court dismissed his appeal, and he now has 14 days to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s ruling.

The hearing took place in a public court and lasted a few hours.

Mr Stamp is suspected of being involved in the murder of Malcolm Augustus, who was shot dead in St George’s on Christmas Day, 2012.

A second man, Wolda Gardener, is currently in custody awaiting trial after denying similar murder charges in the same case.

Mr Stamp has been in the UK for more than a year fighting extradition efforts by Bermudian and British prosecutors to bring him back to the Island to face trial.

Mr Augustus, 21, was shot in the first minutes of Christmas Day in 2012 and died from his wounds.

He was killed at the far end of the St George’s Golf Course next to the intersection of Park Road and Anchorage Lane.

Mr Gardner was arrested soon after the murder while Mr Stamp left the island.

Police revealed on April 23 that Stamp had been arrested in connection with the murder.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court May 1 and chose to challenge extradition proceedings that were filed in a bid to bring him back to the island to face trial.

In late April 2013 Mr Gardner pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Augustus during the Arraignments Session at Supreme Court.

He denied charges of premeditated murder and using a firearm to commit an indictable offence.