Man arrested in Reynolds murder investigation

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of Joseph Reynolds, who was murdered in east Belfast 20 years ago.

Detectives investigating the murder arrested a 46-year-old man in England, the PSNI said in a statement this morning.

The arrest follows the detention last week of a 50-year-old man in Co Tyrone in connection with the murder.

The investigation into Mr Reynold’s death was reopened earlier this month after new information emerged during a review of the cold case file on the killing.

Mr Reynolds (40), a Catholic from west Belfast, was on his way to Shorts aircraft factory in 1993, where he worked as a subcontracting painter, when his van was ambushed by UVF gunmen.

Mr Reynolds’s workmates managed to get the van to the Shorts factory where medical assistance was provided, but Mr Reynolds was pronounced dead. Three of the seven other men in the van, four relatives and three workmates, were also injured.

A number of arrests were made in the original police investigation but no one was ever charged.

Speaking after the investigation was re-opened this month, Det Chief Insp Karen Baxter, from the PSNI Serious Crime Branch said the murder devastated the Reynolds family and shocked the east Belfast community.

“There was something about Joseph being shot on his way to work in broad daylight in front of relatives and workmates which chilled people,” she said.

“Joseph left a wife and five children. He was widely respected in the community, far beyond his native west Belfast. I would ask those people with information in east Belfast who can assist this renewed investigation to do the right thing and tell us what they know.”

Additional reporting: PA