A fresh lead has been uncovered by a team reinvestigating the murder of a policeman in Northern Ireland more than 30 years ago.
The new evidence on the unsolved killing of RUC Det Sgt Joe Campbell (49) outside a police station in Cushendall, Co Antrim, on this day in 1977 was identified by investigators from the Police Ombudsman Office.
Ombudsman Al Hutchinson is re-examining the case after complaints alleging police involvement in the shooting of the Roman Catholic married father of eight.
His team is also investigating claims that the RUC failed to investigate the crime properly.
An RUC detective sergeant was arrested in the early 1980s and charged with the murder but was later acquitted at Belfast Crown court.
The Ombudsman office, which used the anniversary of the shooting to make a renewed appeal for information, would not disclose the nature of the potential evidential breakthrough.
“It is in the interests of both the Campbell family and policing in Northern Ireland that we do all we can to discover the truth about whether or not there were any police issues related to the murder,” said a spokesman.
Det Sgt Campbell was shot at around 10.30pm with a high velocity rifle as he locked the village police station for the evening. He suffered one wound to the head and died almost immediately.
The Ombudsman’s office are trying to determine why Det Sgt Campbell locked up the station even though he was off-duty and want to know if he was planning to meet someone there.
Earlier this week, Police Ombudsman appeals were made at local church services.
PA