MORE EVIDENCE DOUBTS ARE CAST AT OMAGH BOMB TRIAL
More evidence doubts are cast at Omagh bomb trial
BY RONAN McSHERRY
r.mcsherry@ulsterherald.com
AS the Omagh bomb trial goes into its ninth day, doubts continue to be cast on the reliability and gathering of forensic evidence by crime officers.
Sean Hoey (37) is charged with the murder of the 29 people killed in the Omagh bomb on August 15,1998. The prosecution case relies heavily on DNA and fibre evidence. It also relies on drawing on similarities in construction of devices used in other attacks with the Omagh case and linking them to Hoey.
The latest question mark over the collation of evidence came yesterday when a Scenes of Crime officer told the trial that a police store where exhibits were kept was a "complete mess." The officer was responsible for gathering evidence at a mortar bomb attack on Newry police station less than a month before the Omagh bombing. He agreed with Hoey team that trying to find exhibits in the special property store was difficult and often items were not in the store register.
This mix-up regarding evidence has been the latest in a series revealed to Belfast Crown Court. On Tuesday a police officer told the trial a label on forensic evidence seemed to have been changed. This time the item came from a car bomb attack at Armagh Police Station in May 1998, another of the bombings apart from Omagh of which Hoey is accused. Under cross-examination the officer admitted someone seemed to have changed the date by writing over what he had originally put on the label.
The second week of what has been described as, the biggest mass murder trial in British and Irish history, began with a top policeman apologising to the court after he ordered exhibits from a mortar attack to be destroyed.
In May 1998, the Continuity IRA launched a mortar attack on Grosvenor Road RUC station in Belfast but that in August 2000, then Detective Inspector Esmond Adair ordered the destruction of items seized at the scene.
He told prosecuting QC Ciaran Murphy that at the time, there had been difficulties with storing evidence at the station and also because "there was no such thing as Low Copy DNA extraction."
The officer added that he gave the order when the forensic science agency told him there were no "identifiable suspects" from their examination.
Under cross-examination from defence lawyer Ciaran Vaughan, the detective superintendent apologised for the destruction of the mortar tube, timer power unit and other items but told the lawyer that, "if I had thought that a suspect could have been identified there is no way I would've ordered the destruction."
Although Hoey does not face any charges in relation to the mortar attack on Grosvenor Road RUC Station, he is charged with and denies a total of 58 charges, relating not only to Omagh but to six other murder conspiracies, five bombings, four bomb conspiracies and the possession of explosives including timer power units, mortar bombs and bombs.
Hoey denies all the murders and to causing the bombing and to possessing explosives namely a timer power unit between March 3 1997
and August 16 1998.
The trial continues.
BY RONAN McSHERRY
r.mcsherry@ulsterherald.com
AS the Omagh bomb trial goes into its ninth day, doubts continue to be cast on the reliability and gathering of forensic evidence by crime officers.
Sean Hoey (37) is charged with the murder of the 29 people killed in the Omagh bomb on August 15,1998. The prosecution case relies heavily on DNA and fibre evidence. It also relies on drawing on similarities in construction of devices used in other attacks with the Omagh case and linking them to Hoey.
The latest question mark over the collation of evidence came yesterday when a Scenes of Crime officer told the trial that a police store where exhibits were kept was a "complete mess." The officer was responsible for gathering evidence at a mortar bomb attack on Newry police station less than a month before the Omagh bombing. He agreed with Hoey team that trying to find exhibits in the special property store was difficult and often items were not in the store register.
This mix-up regarding evidence has been the latest in a series revealed to Belfast Crown Court. On Tuesday a police officer told the trial a label on forensic evidence seemed to have been changed. This time the item came from a car bomb attack at Armagh Police Station in May 1998, another of the bombings apart from Omagh of which Hoey is accused. Under cross-examination the officer admitted someone seemed to have changed the date by writing over what he had originally put on the label.
The second week of what has been described as, the biggest mass murder trial in British and Irish history, began with a top policeman apologising to the court after he ordered exhibits from a mortar attack to be destroyed.
In May 1998, the Continuity IRA launched a mortar attack on Grosvenor Road RUC station in Belfast but that in August 2000, then Detective Inspector Esmond Adair ordered the destruction of items seized at the scene.
He told prosecuting QC Ciaran Murphy that at the time, there had been difficulties with storing evidence at the station and also because "there was no such thing as Low Copy DNA extraction."
The officer added that he gave the order when the forensic science agency told him there were no "identifiable suspects" from their examination.
Under cross-examination from defence lawyer Ciaran Vaughan, the detective superintendent apologised for the destruction of the mortar tube, timer power unit and other items but told the lawyer that, "if I had thought that a suspect could have been identified there is no way I would've ordered the destruction."
Although Hoey does not face any charges in relation to the mortar attack on Grosvenor Road RUC Station, he is charged with and denies a total of 58 charges, relating not only to Omagh but to six other murder conspiracies, five bombings, four bomb conspiracies and the possession of explosives including timer power units, mortar bombs and bombs.
Hoey denies all the murders and to causing the bombing and to possessing explosives namely a timer power unit between March 3 1997
and August 16 1998.
The trial continues.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/1870
Published Date: 05-Oct-06
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