Three men charged in connection with the murder of Robert McCartney outside Magennis’s Bar in central Belfast over three years ago walked free from Belfast Crown Court today including the man facing the most serious charge of murder, Terence Davison.
Mr Justice Gillen ruled that such were the "frailties" and "inconsistencies" in the case against Davison, who was also charged with affray, and against James McCormick (39) and Joseph Fitzpatrick (49), also charged with affray, that all three should be acquitted.
Fitzpatrick was also acquitted on an additional charge of assaulting Ed Gowdy, one of the three main witness in the case, who was with father-of-two Robert McCartney in Magennis's Bar on January 31st 2005, the night he was killed.
Mr Justice Gillen in his 74-page judgment recalled how the fatal assault on Mr McCartney arose from a quarrel in Magennis's Bar after a number of women interpreted a gesture made by Mr McCartney as insulting to them. He had stated that they misinterpreted his remarks which were directed at a television showing highlights of a football game.
This incident subsequently triggered a brawl in the bar in which Brendan Devine, a friend of Mr McCartney's was stabbed in the neck. The dispute spilled out onto the street leading to further alleged attacks on Mr McCartney in Market Street and nearby Cromac Square.
The judge found that there were difficulties in the evidence of the three key witnesses, Witness C – a woman motorist who observed an attack on Mr McCartney while driving at Cromac Square – and of Mr Devine and Mr Gowdy.
He described Witness C as a "transparently honest and brave witness" who had independently picked out Davison as the killer in a police identity parade. Nonetheless there were "frailties" in her evidence in relation to her identification of Davison , as to whether he had actually stabbed Mr McCartney, and as to whether he had been wielding a knife or some similar object.
He focused on a number of elements of her evidence, including a description of Davison, particularly of the length of his hair, which was at odds with CCTV footage of Davison on the night of the murder.
While not rejecting her identification of Davison he said it would have been necessary to have found some independent supporting evidence before he could have "been satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt as to her accuracy".
Mr Devine and Mr Gowdy might have provided that supporting evidence had their testimony "not been so fundamentally flawed". The judge said he had to be cautious about Mr Devine's evidence considering the large amount of alcohol he had consumed on the day, the fact that he had spoken to the IRA who might have influenced his account of events, and "inconsistencies" in his version of what happened.
Of Mr Gowdy's evidence the judge said "this witnesses's evidence is so seared with inconsistency, contradiction and implausibility in crucial areas that I could not place sufficient reliance on him to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt".
The judge, who sat without a jury, said at the end of his ruling, "I recognise that the family of Mr McCartney and others who held him dear will be frustrated and disappointed that whoever it was who cut this young man down in the prime of his life has or have not been brought to justice."
"However the memory of Mr McCartney and the rule of law itself would be ill-served by this court failing to observe the high standards of criminal justice and the burden of proof which prevails in courts in Northern Ireland."
He added, "The law is not a feather for every wind that blows and the need to ensure that defendants are found guilty only if there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt cannot be sacrificed to genuine and justifiable public concern that miscreants should be brought to justice.
"I have no doubt that the investigation into this crime will continue and if new evidence emerges in connection with this murder no one, including for that matter even the accused in this trial, will be beyond the reach of potential prosecution."
None of the defendants, including Davison who was driven away in a waiting BMW, would comment to reporters outside the court. The defendants did not give evidence during the case.
Mr McCartney's sister, Paula said she was disappointed but not particularly surprised at the verdict. "We thought there might have been a chance of change in this place," she said.
Ms McCartney blamed Sinn Fein and the IRA for the lack of substantial evidence in the case notwithstanding that there were dozens of people in Magennis's Bar on the night of the murder. While the evidence was out there people remained too afraid to tell the truth, she added. "We know who killed our brother," she said.