AN INQUEST has heard that a Co Derry sheep farmer died instantly when he was shot six times through a window as he ate his dinner and then at point-blank range three times in the head
Patrick Devine (50) was hit nine times by .22 calibre hollow-point copper-head jacketed bullets when he was shot in his isolated farmhouse home on September 13th, 2004.
A senior police officer investigating Mr Devine’s murder at Mullintill, Claudy, on the Derry-Tyrone border, said among the “motives in the mix are property, land, sheep-stealing, finance and jealousy”. He could not rule out the possibility of a paramilitary involvement in the death.
Mr Devine, a single man who also worked as a psychiatric nurse in Derry, was shot six times in the chest with a rifle. The bullets were fired through his kitchen window as he ate his dinner. The inquest was told that Mr Devine staggered into the hallway but his killer then entered the house and shot him three times in the head.
Det Chief Insp Ian Magee told coroner John L Leckey the murder was being reinvestigated by a senior review team and featured on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.
The police officer said that after the murder, the killer “removed evidence of ballistics which indicates some forensic expertise and knowledge on the part of the killer”. No fingerprint evidence or bullet casings were recovered. He added that his inquiries into the type of ammunition used involved the assistance of Interpol.
The police officer added that one person was arrested for questioning “but refused to answer any questions”. Mr Devine’s family had offered a reward of £10,000 (€11,600) for information leading to the conviction of the killer.
Pathologist Dr Peter Ingram said the bullets used in the killing were designed in such a way as to fragment on impact, thereby causing maximum injury. He said the three wounds to the head were sustained “with the muzzle of the gun one to two feet from the skin”.
Sympathising with Mr Devine’s family, Mr Leckey said “a major concern is if more of this ammunition is elsewhere in Northern Ireland and who has it”. He said while the manufacture of such ammunition was legal under the Geneva Convention, its modification was illegal.
On behalf of the Devine family, Emmett McShane, a brother-in- law of Mr Devine, said they found details of the death harrowing and horrific.
“We, the Devine family, would today make an appeal to the public to end our living nightmare. We know Patrick can never be brought back to his family but we need some closure . . .
“We would make a special appeal to members of the public who live in and around the Claudy, Craigbane and Aughabrack areas of Derry and Tyrone because we believe this area holds the key to discovering who carried out this murder,” Mr McShane added.
“We are also convinced that this murder was both planned and executed from persons living within these districts.
A verdict in accordance with the medical evidence was returned.