Nairac murder suspect surfaces in US

The PSNI have alerted authorities in the US after claims today a man wanted over the murder of an undercover British soldier …

The PSNI have alerted authorities in the US after claims today a man wanted over the murder of an undercover British soldier has been tracked down near New York.

Patrick Maguire (57), is suspected of involvement in the torture and assassination of Captain Robert Nairac in an isolated field near the Border in 1977. The Grenadier Guardsman's body has never been found.

The South Armagh builder went on the run to America with two other men in the weeks after the killing.

PSNI detectives are now liaising with their colleagues in the US over a reported sighting in a New Jersey suburb.

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The Sun newspaper said it confronted Maguire at his house.

According to the paper he expressed regrets when challenged about the killing but said he would not be returning to Northern Ireland. “There’s nothing I can say about that night... Of course I have regrets about it... but I’m not going to say any more,” the father of four told the paper.

“I’m not going to go back into the past. And if the past catches up with me, then... There’s nothing can change things now and I’ve told you I regret it but that’s as far as I can go... There’s nothing can change it, it’s 30-odd years ago.”

PSNI sources said they are satisfied the man pictured in the paper is Maguire.

In the years after Capt Nairac was killed, three men were convicted of his murder, but police said three other suspects evaded arrest after going on the run to the US.

One of those men - Kevin Crilly (59) from Jonesborough, South Armagh - subsequently returned to Northern Ireland and last month he was charged with the murder at Newry Magistrates Court.

Capt Nairac (29), from Gloucestershire, was interrogated and then shot dead after being snatched from a pub car park near Jonesborough, south Armagh and driven across the Border to an isolated field at Ravensdale, Co Louth.

His remains have never been found amid claims from former IRA members that the body was disposed of at a local meat processing plant. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his bravery.

A spokeswoman for the PSNI said: “The investigation into Robert Nairac’s murder is active and ongoing.

“One man is currently on remand charged with the murder and PSNI detectives are still working to locate and extradite at least two other suspects. Liaisons will continue with law enforcement agencies around the world, including the US.”

PA