Strength of evidence against man charged with murdering Lyra McKee questioned

By Rebecca Black (Press Association)

The strength of evidence against a man jointly charged with the murder of journalist Lyra McKee has been questioned by his defence barrister.

The 29-year-old author died after being hit by a bullet as she stood close to police vehicles while observing disturbances in the Creggan area of Londonderry on April 18 2019.

It came as TV presenter Reggie Yates and an MTV crew were filming in the area for a documentary.

Several petrol bombs had been directed at police and a car was set on fire during chaotic scenes which culminated in four shots being fired towards officers, which the prosecution contend were aimed and deliberate.

The New IRA claimed responsibility for the death of Ms McKee.

Paul McIntyre, 58, of Kells Walk in Derry, Peter Cavanagh, 37, of Mary Street, and Jordan Gareth Devine, 25, of Bishop Street, are facing a joint enterprise murder charge.

They are also facing other charges connected to the shooting and the rioting.

Six other Derry men are facing charges including rioting and throwing petrol bombs in the non-jury trial.

Another man accused of rioting and throwing petrol bombs on the night of the murder died during trial proceedings last year.

It is the prosecution’s case that the three men accused of murder had accompanied a lone gunman to the firing point on the night and encouraged or assisted him.

They have all denied the charges and refused to give evidence.

In closing submissions made across two days in March before the Easter break, the prosecution said the three have been linked to the scene by clothing and physical features.

The court has been hearing closing submissions from barristers representing the defendants this week.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mark Mulholland KC took issue with the quality of footage used in the prosecution case.

The prosecution, which contends McIntyre played a “leading role”, linked him with Person D seen in the footage.

Mr Mulholland told Judge Patricia Smyth the prosecution’s closing had “not properly reflected the state of the evidence”, and said mobile phone footage of the shooting had been taken from social media and the quality was “degraded”.

“This arises due to compression, it’s the loss of pixels, the detail in the footage, and that is the type of compromised image that this court is being invited as the grounding evidential foundation to come to a conclusion beyond reasonable doubt as the evidence for a murder charge,” he said.

“The footage simply does not pass muster, and if the court accepts that then in terms of the murder charge, it goes no further. There is no other supporting evidence that can salvage the wholly degraded and therefore unreliable imagery being relied upon.”

Mr Mulholland’s submission on behalf of McIntyre is expected to resume on Thursday morning.

Lyra died after being struck by a bullet fired at police vehicles parked in the Fanad Drive area of Creggan during serious unrest on April 18, 2019