A West Belfast man whose brother was murdered by loyalists
in 1974 has called on the PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde to detail how
the police are planning to solve the murder which has been "lying cold
for over 30 years".
The request comes after the British government announced
earlier this month that a squad of 100 investigators – the Serious
Crime Review Team – is to be assigned to work on the unsolved cases of
1,800 victims of the Troubles in an initiative costing £32 million.
Gerry Armstrong's brother Paul was tortured before being shot
dead by the UVF under the guise of the Protestant Action Force on
November 8, 1974. He was just 18 years old.
At the time RUC detectives assured the Armstrong family that
the killers would be brought to book for the horrific murder. However,
31 years on nobody has been caught or tried for the killing.
Now Gerry says he wants a "face-to-face" meeting with Chief
Constable Hugh Orde to discuss the investigation into his brother's
murder.
"At the time my mother was offered £300 compensation for
Paul's 18 years on this earth. Of course, we refused. But now almost 31
years later this vast amount of money is going to be spent on
1,800-plus unsolved murders. I would like to know how," said the
Whiterock man.
Gerry went on to say that he finds it difficult to see how the
PSNI are going to solve the murder now when the detectives in charge of
the case at the time were incapable of doing so.
"When Paul was murdered, a team of detectives assured my late
father, James, that no stone would be left unturned in the
investigation. All these years later it seems quite obvious that not
too many stones were overturned."
Whilst it has been reported that new forensic techniques would
be made available in the hope of achieving breakthroughs in the cases,
Mr Armstrong is sceptical. "I would love to have hope in this but I
honestly can't see how these detectives are going to be able to trace
forensic evidence in the case of my brother. He was killed and left
lying in a derelict bakery in Byron Street.
How they would begin to search for forensics here after 31 years is beyond me.
"Perhaps they still have Paul's clothes, I know we never got
them back. But how could they find forensic evidence now when the
police force at the time obviously couldn't, or didn't want to?"
Mr Armstrong said he is apprehensive about the move and is
hoping that it is not a smokescreen for the PSNI to look as though they
are doing something about unsolved murders.
"I've heard Hugh Orde talking on the radio about this, I've
seen him talking on the TV and I hope it isn't just talk. Thirty one
years ago my family heard enough talking about how the killers would be
caught, it didn't lead to anything and I hope this doesn't go the same
way."
Frustrated at the amount of time that has passed without any
breakthrough, Mr Armstrong questioned the name of the new investigative
team.
"They are calling themselves the Serious Crime Review Team
but I don't see why my brother's murder wasn't serious enough to be
tackled thoroughly at the time, yet now all of a sudden it is. It seems
strange and myself and my family are not sure what way we should
welcome the news."
Gerry Armstrong said he accepted that there were many similar cases to Paul's over the years.
He says he just wants justice for his family who have since
lost both parents – they died without ever really knowing what happened
to their son.
The West Belfast man says that he would exhaust all options open
to him. His first option is that face-to-face meeting with Hugh Orde.
"What we want are answers and while it would be nice to have
American senators and people in high places to profile Paul's case, I
really just want to speak to the Chief Constable because at the end of
the day, he is the only one that can give the answers that my family
have been waiting 31 years for."
