OMAGH BOMB TRIAL VERDICT EXPECTED TODAY
Omagh bomb trial verdict expected today
The long-awaited verdict in the Omagh bomb trial is due to be delivered this afternoon (Thursday), after a period of deliberation of over a year.
The September 2006 trial of Sean Hoey, from Jonesborough, County Armagh, lasted 56 days and saw the defendant tried on 56 charges, including the murder of 29 people in the 1998 atrocity.
During the 37-year-old electrician's non-jury trial, evidence was heard from hundreds of witnesses, but Mr Hoey himself did not take the stand.
Much of the prosecution's case rested on fibre evidence which, they claimed, links Hoey's home with the bombings, as well as supposed similarities between the bomb timers used in the 1998 attack, and those in previous Real IRA devices which contain the Armagh man's DNA.
However, key evidence from the prosecution was held in doubt, as the defence strenuously disputed the reliability of the relatively new, and highly sensitive, low copy number DNA in question. During the high-profile hearing Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, launched a formal investigation, following criticism of the conduct of two police witnesses who, it was claimed, had 'beefed up' their statements, to make the forensic measures taken appear more robust.
The officers in question also admitted under cross-examination that their original statements had, in fact, subsequently gone missing.
The long-awaited verdict in the Omagh bomb trial is due to be delivered this afternoon (Thursday), after a period of deliberation of over a year.
The September 2006 trial of Sean Hoey, from Jonesborough, County Armagh, lasted 56 days and saw the defendant tried on 56 charges, including the murder of 29 people in the 1998 atrocity.
During the 37-year-old electrician's non-jury trial, evidence was heard from hundreds of witnesses, but Mr Hoey himself did not take the stand.
Much of the prosecution's case rested on fibre evidence which, they claimed, links Hoey's home with the bombings, as well as supposed similarities between the bomb timers used in the 1998 attack, and those in previous Real IRA devices which contain the Armagh man's DNA.
However, key evidence from the prosecution was held in doubt, as the defence strenuously disputed the reliability of the relatively new, and highly sensitive, low copy number DNA in question. During the high-profile hearing Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, launched a formal investigation, following criticism of the conduct of two police witnesses who, it was claimed, had 'beefed up' their statements, to make the forensic measures taken appear more robust.
The officers in question also admitted under cross-examination that their original statements had, in fact, subsequently gone missing.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1898
Published Date: 20-Dec-07
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