OMAGH BOMBER MADE SEVERAL DEVICES: EXPERT
Omagh bomber made several devices: expert
AN EXPLOSIVES expert has said he believes there was "support for the proposition" that the same person made a series of bombs in 1998 - including the car bomb which devastated Omagh.
The claim came at the Belfast Crown Court trial of Sean Gerard Hoey (37), as prosecution and defence legal teams argued over the admissibility of evidence to be given by senior forensic scientist Dennis McAuley.
Mr McAuley said that having studied and examined a total of 47 'Mark 19' bomb timers: "I believe there is support for the proposition that the 'Northern Ireland 1998' units were made by the same person rather than a group of people sharing knowledge."
Hoey, an electrician from Molly Road, Jonesborough in south Armagh, denies a total of 58 terrorist-related charges including the Omagh bomb murders and other bomb and mortar attacks.
Mr McAuley told defence QC Orlando Pownall that his belief the bombs could have been made by the same person was based on a "combination of things" such as the components used to make the timer power unit, the makeup of major components, wiring characteristics and the sequence they appear in the electrical circuit.
He said the main feature he relied upon was the way in which the maker had soldered wires and connections together, as they showed the "individual characteristics of someone's workmanship".
However, Mr McAuley accepted that he was "not an expert on soldering" and further accepted Mr Pownall's suggestion that "nobody is in a position to say that the soldering in each case is exactly the same".
The lawyer suggested to him that of the 12 timer power units described as the 'Omagh series' there was no "signature or striking feature" but Mr McAuley refuted this, telling Mr Pownall he thought there was in the way the wire had been put through the hole, turned back on itself and then soldered. Later in the cross-examination, it emerged that Mr McAuley had conducted a "limited soldering exercise" within the electrical department of the Forensic Agency.
He told the court he had handed out six units to colleagues for them to solder and when five of them were returned "none of them were soldered in this fashion", adding that he believed it "provided some support" to his conclusions.
However, Mr McAuley went on to tell the court that although a statement about the experiment was almost ready, he was not in a position to hand his findings to either legal team - described by Mr Pownall as a "lamentable state of affairs".
Mr Pownall said: "I suggest that in reaching the conclusion you have reached that...you applied no science at all", but Mr McAuley said he disagreed with that.
Showing a picture of a component part of the Omagh bomb, Mr McAuley agreed with the lawyer that the soldering method used in it was "another variation".
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday when Mr Justice Weir will hear submissions as to whether or not he should permit Mr McAuley's opinion evidence to be adopted into the evidence.
Meanwhile, defence lawyers will today try to have a former British spy inside the IRA ordered to appear as a witness at the trial.
An application to summons the ex-agent who uses the pseudonym Kevin Fulton, as well as three unidentified others, will be heard by Mr Justice Weatherup.
Fulton has refused requests by Hoey's legal representatives to appear as a witness, claiming it would threaten his personal safety.
AN EXPLOSIVES expert has said he believes there was "support for the proposition" that the same person made a series of bombs in 1998 - including the car bomb which devastated Omagh.
The claim came at the Belfast Crown Court trial of Sean Gerard Hoey (37), as prosecution and defence legal teams argued over the admissibility of evidence to be given by senior forensic scientist Dennis McAuley.
Mr McAuley said that having studied and examined a total of 47 'Mark 19' bomb timers: "I believe there is support for the proposition that the 'Northern Ireland 1998' units were made by the same person rather than a group of people sharing knowledge."
Hoey, an electrician from Molly Road, Jonesborough in south Armagh, denies a total of 58 terrorist-related charges including the Omagh bomb murders and other bomb and mortar attacks.
Mr McAuley told defence QC Orlando Pownall that his belief the bombs could have been made by the same person was based on a "combination of things" such as the components used to make the timer power unit, the makeup of major components, wiring characteristics and the sequence they appear in the electrical circuit.
He said the main feature he relied upon was the way in which the maker had soldered wires and connections together, as they showed the "individual characteristics of someone's workmanship".
However, Mr McAuley accepted that he was "not an expert on soldering" and further accepted Mr Pownall's suggestion that "nobody is in a position to say that the soldering in each case is exactly the same".
The lawyer suggested to him that of the 12 timer power units described as the 'Omagh series' there was no "signature or striking feature" but Mr McAuley refuted this, telling Mr Pownall he thought there was in the way the wire had been put through the hole, turned back on itself and then soldered. Later in the cross-examination, it emerged that Mr McAuley had conducted a "limited soldering exercise" within the electrical department of the Forensic Agency.
He told the court he had handed out six units to colleagues for them to solder and when five of them were returned "none of them were soldered in this fashion", adding that he believed it "provided some support" to his conclusions.
However, Mr McAuley went on to tell the court that although a statement about the experiment was almost ready, he was not in a position to hand his findings to either legal team - described by Mr Pownall as a "lamentable state of affairs".
Mr Pownall said: "I suggest that in reaching the conclusion you have reached that...you applied no science at all", but Mr McAuley said he disagreed with that.
Showing a picture of a component part of the Omagh bomb, Mr McAuley agreed with the lawyer that the soldering method used in it was "another variation".
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday when Mr Justice Weir will hear submissions as to whether or not he should permit Mr McAuley's opinion evidence to be adopted into the evidence.
Meanwhile, defence lawyers will today try to have a former British spy inside the IRA ordered to appear as a witness at the trial.
An application to summons the ex-agent who uses the pseudonym Kevin Fulton, as well as three unidentified others, will be heard by Mr Justice Weatherup.
Fulton has refused requests by Hoey's legal representatives to appear as a witness, claiming it would threaten his personal safety.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0812
Published Date: 20-Oct-06
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