The legal proceedings have begun in Belfast against three individuals implicated in the homicide of reporter Lyra McKee. Ms. McKee, aged 29, was fatally wounded by a bullet while she was near police vehicles during a riot in Derry’s Creggan district on April 18, 2019. The ‘New IRA’ subsequently accepted liability for the crime.
The accused are Peter Cavanagh, aged 35, of Mary Street, Derry; Jordan Gareth Devine, aged 23, of Bishop Street, Derry; and Paul McIntyre, aged 56, of Kells Walk, Derry. Each is facing murder charges, and they are further indicted on a range of other charges, encompassing unlawful assembly, firearms and ammunition possession with intent, and the possession and lobbing of petrol bombs. Furthermore, Mr McIntyre is charged separately with being part of an outlawed group.
David McDowell KC, who is leading the case for the prosecution, stated that the incident occurred at the peak of planned chaos locally. The prosecution will argue, he says, that the men implicated in the murder case were accompanying a lone shooter that night. The advocate added that the shooter had let off four rounds aimed at police Land Rovers.
The non-jury trial at Belfast Crown Court was told that TV host Reggie Yates, along with an MTV production team, had been shooting a documentary in Derry just prior to the murder, focusing on Saoradh – a group Northern Ireland’s Police Service identifies as the political arm of the New IRA. The court was told that Yates and his team exited the scene of the riot just ahead of the gunshots on the night McKee was slain.
As the trial got underway, Judge Patricia Smyth was shown clips filmed by the MTV team on the day of the murder, featuring introductions involving Yates and several individuals at Saoradh’s Derry operations. Mr McDowell indicated to the judge that Paul McIntyre and Jordan Devine were among the people inside the building at that time, and pointed out the men’s physical attributes and attire when they met with Yates. An additional seven men are currently facing trial for several charges, including rioting and petrol bomb throwing.
The court proceedings have kicked off at the Laganside Courts in Belfast with the attendance of Nichola Corner McKee and Sara Canning, partner of Ms McKee. The individuals standing trial are: Joseph Patrick Barr (36), from Sandringham Drive, Derry; Jude Forest Coffey (26), of Gartan Square, Derry; William Patrick Elliott (57), residing at Ballymagowan Gardens, Derry; Joseph Anthony Campbell (23), from Gosheden Cottages, Derry; Patrick Anthony Gallagher (32) of John Field Place, Derry; Christopher Joseph Gillen (43), from Balbane Pass, Derry, along with Kieran George McCool (55), who hails from Ballymagowan Gardens, also in Derry.