Judgment is expected to be reserved today in the Belfast Crown Court retrial of Cpl Lee Clegg of the British army for the murder of teenager Ms Karen Reilly in September 1990.
The 18-year-old was shot dead when Cpl Clegg and his patrol opened fire on a stolen Vauxhall Astra car in which she was a backseat passenger. Convicted in 1993 of the murder, Cpl Clegg was released two years later, during which time both the Court of Appeal and House of Lords refused to quash the conviction.
A third appeal against conviction was granted by the courts and a retrial ordered. Cpl Clegg still serves with the paratroop regiment as a physical education instructor.
In final legal submissions yesterday, prosecutor Mr Reg Weir QC said an examination of the evidence proved Cpl Clegg's account of the shooting "is demonstrably false". Mr Weir told trial judge Mr Justice Kerr: "The court will be satisfied that he had no lawful excuse for firing any of his four shots and accordingly is guilty".
The prosecution claims Cpl Clegg's last shot, which hit Ms Reilly, was fired through "Hole 4" into the back of the car as it sped along the Upper Glen Road in west Belfast. The defence argues it was fired through "Hole 8" into the side of the car.
The lawyer also claimed Cpl Clegg's own ballistic's expert, Dr Ian Renshaw, by proving the origin of his first or second shot through "Hole 18" had "disproved the accused's account of when and where he opened fire".
Mr Weir also claimed Dr Renshaw had "piled improbability upon improbability as he sought to defend his position.
"The overwhelming weight of the evidence is against the Clegg bullet having entered `Hole 18', and taking an overall view, it is the obvious and common-sense answer that the Clegg bullet was fired through `Hole 4' at a time when the accused puts forward no reason for firing and indeed utterly denies firing," said Mr Weir.
Indeed, Mr Weir claimed, Cpl Clegg "was no more entitled to fire that shot than any of his other three shots and he has not even attempted to justify it".
Defence QC Mr William Clegg, in his submissions, said at the time the paratrooper was only 21 and faced a nightmare situation in which he had to make a split-second decision.
He added for Cpl Clegg, the consequences of his actions on that day were the deaths of two young people, wholly innocent. There was nothing in Cpl Clegg's background to suggest any motive for murder, nor was there any evidence to suggest he was "triggerhappy or prone to impulsive conduct".
He said the recollections of those involved in such fast-moving incidents were bound to vary.
Mr Clegg continues his submissions today before Mr Justice Kerr adjourns the case to consider a verdict.