11/01/2012

Constable Carroll Murder Trial Continues

The trial of a former Sinn Fein counselor and a mother and son charged with crimes connecting to the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll continues.

Today the court heard of the attempts to save the life of the PSNI officer that was killed as part of a set-up in what is described as a stronghold republican area.

Due to the danger of attending call outs in the area of the murder the police sent two cars and it has been heard the policewoman driver of the other car told the court that as she went to lock her vehicle she heard “two cracks... one after the other”.

Jumping into the driver's seat on hearing the shots, she told her colleague to “get in, it’s a set-up”.

They were going to leave the area but then learned that Constable Carroll had already entered the estate.

On approaching Constable Carroll’s car the passenger, who had got out of the police car said “my driver’s dead”.

The state pathologist has also told the trial that the single bullet that killed Constable Carroll was rapidly fatal.

Professor Jack Crane said the bullet entered his head near the left ear and passed through the base of the skull.

Former Sinn Fein councillor Brendan McConville, 40, and John Paul Wooton, 20, deny charges of murder and possession of an AK47 assault rifle.

The prosecution counsel however said that DNA and other evidence could tie the pair to the murder.

It is alleged that the accused gunmen shot Constable Carroll from a distance of 50 metres with a AK47 rifle as he responded to the callout

(LB)

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12 January 2012
More Details Revealed In Constable Carroll Case
More details have been released about the murder weapon used to kill Constable Stephen Carroll three years ago. Forensic scientists who examined the remains of the bullets found in Constable Carroll’s car have said that they were of Yugoslavian origin, had been manufactured in 1982 and were fired from the same gun.
29 April 2013
Sabotage Claim In Constable Carroll Murder Appeal
The High Court in Belfast has heard a claim the the PSNI attempted to sabotage the appeal of two men convicted of murdering Constable Stephen Carroll. Brendan McConvill and John Paul Wooton are appealing against their convictions, after they were found guilty last year of the murder.
29 May 2014
Stephen Carroll Murder - Pair Lose Appeal
Two men jailed for the murder of police constable Stephen Carroll in 2009 have lost an appeal against their convictions. Constable Carroll was shot dead by the dissident republicans as he responded to a 999 call in Craigavon, County Armagh, in 2009. He was the first police officer to be killed since the formation of the PSNI.
16 February 2010
Pair Held In Officer's Murder Probe
Two men in their 20s and 30s, are being questioned at Antrim police station after being arrested in connection with the murder of a police officer in Craigavon, Co Armagh last year. Constable Stephen Carroll (pictured) was shot dead by dissident republicans when he went to answer a distress call on 9 March last year.
26 March 2009
Third Person Faces PSNI Death Charges
As the investigation into the dissident republican murder of PSNI Constable Stephen Carroll continues, a third person has appeared in court in connection with the murder today.