UTV News - HET investigation branded 'meaningless'

Subscribe to the News Feed Newsback to News

HET investigation branded 'meaningless'

Text Size:  A  A |  POST A COMMENT |  PRINT |  SHARE 
HET investigation branded 'meaningless'
The family of a councillor murdered 35 years ago have withdrawn their co-operation from an investigation into the death.

Relatives of Patrick Kelly, 33, from Trillick, Co Tyrone, whose body was found in a lough after he was abducted and shot, said they no longer had any confidence in the Historical Enquiries team.

"The approach has been one of window-dressing, using fine sounding words and carefully crafted statements which when examined, are all but meaningless," a statement said.

The body of Mr Kelly, a Catholic father-of-three, and a nationalist member of Omagh District Council, was found tied to two 56lb weights in Lough Eyes, near Tempo about 10 miles from his home in August 1974.

He went missing just over a fortnight earlier on his way home from a pub in Trillick which he managed.

Even though loyalist paramilitaries claimed they were responsible, it is widely believed that members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who had been operating a roadblock near the house at the time may have been involved.

David Jordan, a former UDR man who died in suspicious circumstances in October 1999 claimed he had detailed knowledge of the murder. He was never questioned and no-one ever charged.

The Historical Enquiries team began their probe in early 2007, but the Kelly family confirmed on Monday they had lost all trust in the investigation and called for a full independent inquiry into the death, including allegations of collusion by the security forces.

© Press Association

Send to a friend

Email To
Your Name
Comment
Close
At 14:49 on 01 December 2009, lorna wrote:
Very dangerous to speculate who were guilty. Just because there was a road block does not mean anything. Would it not have been silly for the UDR to have carried out this murder when they were clearly seen in the area. The IRA would have not been seen then or after. Some are out to slander the work done in dangerous times by the UDR. The HET - I have no confidence in them either ! I would rather have confessions from those in power before more power is given to them.
At 14:15 on 01 December 2009, Biggie Mac wrote:
Nah Phil the cops are just wasting money, their time and solid info pointing the finger at certain suspects that were in a UDR unit..Just For A Laugh.
At 13:58 on 01 December 2009, Phil wrote:
Does anyone have actual proof that the UDR carried out this murder or is it just the old grapevine that people are relying on.
At 23:43 on 30 November 2009, Liambo wrote:
August 1994??It was 1974 when patrick kelly was murdered by the secterian UDR militia.
At 21:18 on 30 November 2009, John wrote:
Correct me if I am wrong but was the UDR not disbanded in 1992?
Post a comment
Name:
Email Address:
Location:
Your Comment:
Verification Code: Captcha Code  Get New Code
POST COMMENT
[Before posting, please take a moment to familiarise yourself with our house rules. All comments are moderated and will not appear immediately. Any information you enter, including email and web addresses, will be displayed on our site if passed by our moderators.]