The death of double agent Brian Nelson, just days before an eagerly-awaited report into allegations of collusion between loyalists and the British security forces is handed over, is the latest remarkable twist in the disturbing case of Pat Finucane.
Nelson, who had been living at a secret address in England, is said to have died of a brain haemorrhage after suffering a heart attack.
He was a former senior UDA member and British soldier who was recruited by military intelligence at the height of the Troubles.
Nelson always maintained that his army handlers were well aware that he had compiled information on Mr Finucane, the leading lawyer who was shot dead by the UDA at his north Belfast home in 1989.
The claim that some British figures had effectively sanctioned the assassination of Mr Finucane is central to a long-running investigation into collusion with loyalists carried out by the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir John Stevens.
Sir John's report is due to be presented to the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Hugh Orde, later this week.
Only one person, north Belfast loyalist Billy Stobie, was ever charged in connection with the murder of Mr Finucane.
Stobie was cleared in November 2001 of aiding and abetting the killing, only to be shot dead by the UDA a month later.
If a public inquiry had ever been staged into the murder of Mr Finucane, Stobie and Nelson would obviously have been key witnesses.
Perhaps some observers will conclude that the demise of Stobie and Nelson may considerably reduce the prospects of such an independent tribunal ever getting off the ground.
However, the reality is that every single piece of new evidence which has emerged since the death of Mr Finucane 14 years ago had heightened public concern over the case.
Sir John Stevens is said to have forwarded at least 20 files on members of the security forces, both serving and retired, to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
While it will be intriguing to discover whether or not these individuals will eventually stand trial, a wider examination of all the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Finucane remains essential.
Every murder carried out by paramilitary organisations, both republican and loyalist, over the last three decades and beyond was evil and entirely unjustified.
Each of these killings was followed by an investigation on the part of the authorities – some inquiries resulted in convictions and some didn't.
What sets the Finucane case apart is the ever-strengthening suggestion that responsibility for his death can be traced to a malign section within those same authorities.
It remains impossible to see how the truth can be established without a public inquiry.
