Murdered Thomas' Father In Fresh Plea For Information

As Christmas looms the parents of a schoolboy murder victim have renewed their plea for information.

Noting that the festive season is above all a time for the family, Jim Devlin, whose 15-year-old son Thomas was stabbed five times in the back while walking with friends, close to his home, on August 10, 2005, has begged for those closest to the main suspect to do the decent thing and take what they know to the police.

Jim Devlin urged anyone with information on his son's killing to show "compassion" at this time of year by breaking silence.

He particularly urged the girlfriend of the chief suspect to give the crucial information that could provide a breakthrough.

Following police activity earlier this year, when police targeted the area where the main suspect was then living, the grieving father - who has vowed to step up the campaign against the people withholding information about his son's murder - pleaded with the suspect's girlfriend, or her relatives, to come forward

He has asked that the young woman use the Sunday Life newspaper's £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer to make a new life for herself and child.

He said: "I don't know how this woman can look across the Christmas table at the father of her child knowing that he is a child killer.

"I would urge this woman to use the reward and also the help she would receive from the police and other agencies to make a new life for herself and baby.

"This person has already murdered a child and what's to stop it happening again?

"This woman has not even considered the impact my son's murder has had on my family. I don't understand the mindset of people who can look at a child killer and keep quiet," he said.

Speaking earlier this year, PSNI Detective Inspector Nick McCaw said: “An advertising campaign targeted the Shore Road and Mount Vernon areas of north Belfast. These are locations where we believe that individuals have information about Thomas’ murder – who killed him and what they did immediately afterwards with their clothing and the weapon.

“The ad campaign concentrated on a limited number of poster sites, in a community newspaper and on a mobile display hoarding.

“No one should forget what happened over two years ago – a young lad went out with his mates to the shop for sweets and was brutally murdered by men armed with a knife," he said.

He also said there have been 12 arrests and 77 searches. Police have taken 1,038 statements and obtained 775 exhibits. To date, no one has been charged.

But new lines of enquiry are being followed up and the investigation remains dynamic.

Thomas’ mother, Penny Holloway, said: “We have always said that if such a tragedy was to happen to any other family, we would do our best to help in any way.

"Certainly, if we thought we had any information then we would give it to police. All we are asking is for those people who know about Thomas’ murder to do the same for us. It’s what anyone with a heart and a conscience would do.”

Just today, Thomas' father addressed comments directly to the family of the chief suspect's girlfriend's and said: "The relatives of the claim to be Christians, but how can they celebrate the birth of Christ by keeping quiet about someone who murdered a child?

"We have two other children and this is also an especially hard time for them because their brother was the life and soul of the party at Christmas.

"We are not going to stop and we will be pressing the police in 2008 to prosecute the people who have withheld information.

"As Christians, these people should try and understand how a terrible act of evil has destroyed the lives of an innocent family. These people should realise that they are committing a very serious offence by refusing to come forward," Mr Devlin concluded.

(BMcC)