KEY SUSPECT DIED OF CANCER
Key suspect died of cancer
ONE of the chief suspects in the massacre is now dead.
The man, from Dundalk, Co Louth, coordinated a series of telephone warnings made just before the explosion which killed 29 people, police have established. He was among 17 republicans and their associates identified by detectives in the team who were part of the plot to blow up the town.
The dissident republican went on the run after the August 1998 atrocity, only to be struck down by cancer from which he never recovered. At one stage detectives were ready to exhume his body to collect DNA. The plan was called off when police found his profile from a previous arrest. Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter, the man in charge of the
Omagh inquiry, said the dead man played a significant part in the attack. "The bombers in Omagh phoned him when the bomb was planted," he said.
"He then phoned people at coin-boxes, coordinating the bomb warnings."
Three alerts, containing conflicting information, were sent through before a Vauxhall Cavalier car packed with 5001b of explosives was detonated.
ONE of the chief suspects in the massacre is now dead.
The man, from Dundalk, Co Louth, coordinated a series of telephone warnings made just before the explosion which killed 29 people, police have established. He was among 17 republicans and their associates identified by detectives in the team who were part of the plot to blow up the town.
The dissident republican went on the run after the August 1998 atrocity, only to be struck down by cancer from which he never recovered. At one stage detectives were ready to exhume his body to collect DNA. The plan was called off when police found his profile from a previous arrest. Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter, the man in charge of the
Omagh inquiry, said the dead man played a significant part in the attack. "The bombers in Omagh phoned him when the bomb was planted," he said.
"He then phoned people at coin-boxes, coordinating the bomb warnings."
Three alerts, containing conflicting information, were sent through before a Vauxhall Cavalier car packed with 5001b of explosives was detonated.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0870
Published Date: 21-Dec-07
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.