Bloody Sunday paratrooper found not guilty of murders

A Bloody Sunday paratrooper has been found not guilty of committing two murders and five attempted murders in Derry in 1972.

- JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE REBECCA BLACK

Delivering his judgment at Belfast Crown Court yesterday, Judge Patrick Lynch said the evidence presented against the veteran - referred to in court as Soldier F - fell well short of what was required for conviction.

Soldier F had been accused of the murders of James Wray and William McKinney on Bloody Sunday, regarded as one of the darkest days of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The veteran had also been accused of attempting to murder Michael Quinn, Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon and an unknown person.

Thirteen people were killed when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on a civil rights demonstration in the city. The non-jury trial heard evidence across four weeks, which included statements by two of Soldier F's colleagues.

Soldier F was present at Belfast Crown Court for each day of the trial, concealed behind a curtain in the courtroom. Relatives of the men killed and supporters of Soldier F also attended each day of the trial.