Investigation Re-Opened In Damien Duffy Murder Case

Police have re-opened the investigation into the murder of a teenager in west Belfast 11 years ago.

18 year old Damien Duffy was beaten and stabbed during a confrontation between two groups of people on the Stewartstown Road in the early hours of 20 May 2001. Damien, a trainee maintenance officer, was transferred to hospital in London but died a fortnight later on 4 June 2001.

As the eleventh anniversary of his death approaches, detectives from PSNI's Serious Crime Branch have re-opened the case following a review.

The officer leading the renewed investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Justyn Galloway, said: "As a result of the initial police investigation, a number of individuals pleaded guilty to a series of offences linked to the street confrontation but no-one has been made amenable for Damien’s murder.

"This was a confrontation which began as a dispute in a bar and escalated into a major confrontation between two large groups of people on the Stewartstown Road around 3am on Sunday 20 May 2001.

"The tragic consequences of that night will stay with Damien’s family for ever. Many people have moved on; loyalties may have changed; but the Duffy family is stuck in limbo. Their lives have been devastated by the loss of a son and a brother.

"Even after 11 years I firmly believe there are people in the local community who have information about what happened that night and who was involved.

"I would appeal to the community, specifically to anyone who was in the company of the person responsible either on the night or the days following the incident to think about the heart-breaking position the Duffy family is in. I would urge them to look to their consciences and to provide whatever information they have to police."

(CD/GK)