16/01/2013

Massereene Murders: Retrial Confirmed

Brian Shivers is to face a retrial, following the overturning of his convictions for murdering two British soldiers at Massereene barracks in 2009.

Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal has ordered the convictions against Shivers, 47, were unsafe.

Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London, were shot by the Real IRA as they went to collect a pizza delivery at the Antrim army base.

Crown barrister Terence Mooney said it still needed to be decided whether Shivers had known about the attack before it was carried out, and whether he was part of the wider murder conspiracy.

Shivers’s defence said if the same evidence was to be relied upon in a retrial it could call into question the integrity of the prosecution.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said a retrial was in the interest of justice.

The Court said no finding had been made regarding when Shivers allegedly became aware of the murder plot and quashed the murder convictions.

Shivers, from Magherafelt, will also appeal convictions on six counts of attempted murder and one of possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Last February, he was ordered to serve a minimum 25 years in prison for his part in the killings.

Colin Duffy, a 45-year-old republican from Lurgan in County Armagh, was tried along with Shivers and was acquitted of all charges, including the two murders.

Shivers had initially been found guilty of aiding and abetting by setting fire to the getaway car.

DNA analysis then linked him to matches found in the partially burnt-out Vauxhall Cavalier.

(IT)

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15 January 2013
Massereene Conviction Quashed
A man who was jailed for his part in the murder of two soldiers at Massereene Army base in Antrim has had his convictions overturned. 47-year-old Brian Shivers, from Magherafelt, has successfully challenged his convictions for the murders of Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and 21-year-old Patrick Azimkar in March 2009.
10 December 2010
Duffy To Stand Trial Over Massareene
A well-known Co Armagh republican, Colin Duffy and Magherafelt man Brian Shivers will go on trial early next year accused of murdering two soldiers in the Real IRA gun attack on Massareene army base in March 2009.
12 December 2006
Man acquitted of Arlene murder could face retrial
The man who was acquitted of the murder of 15-year-old Arlene Arkinson in 1994, could face retrial. Searches for the teenager's body have today resumed and the Public Prosecution Service has said that if a body is found, then Robert Lesarian Howard, who was cleared of the murder in 2005, could face retrial.
23 July 2009
Massereene Murders Accused In Court
A 44-year-old Maghera man has been formally charged with the murders of two soldiers and attempted murders of six others at a Ballymena court. Brian Shivers is accused of shooting dead Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London, (pictured) at the Massereene Army Barracks, Antrim, in March this year.
15 February 2007
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