LONDON — A court in Belfast has cleared three men of murder charges stemming from the 2019 shooting death of journalist Lyra McKee, who was fatally struck by a bullet while reporting on a riot in Northern Ireland.
Justice Patricia Smyth acknowledged Friday that her ruling would bring “little if any comfort or relief” to McKee’s loved ones. However, following a nonjury trial that took place intermittently over the last two years at Belfast Crown Court, she determined that the circumstantial evidence presented was not strong enough to support a conviction.
“Lyra McKee’s murder was an act of senseless violence,” Smyth stated. “The gunman has never been brought to the court and the evidence against those accused of assisting or encouraging has fallen short of that required for conviction.”
McKee, who was 29 years old, was standing near law enforcement officers watching an anti-police riot in Londonderry — also referred to as Derry — on April 18, 2019, when she was shot. Rioters had been throwing fire bombs at police and set a car ablaze before four shots were fired. A bullet from a masked gunman struck and killed McKee.
No one was ever charged with actually firing the weapon. However, three men — Paul McIntyre, 58, Peter Cavanagh, 37, and Jordan Gareth Devine, 25 — faced murder charges as alleged accomplices who encouraged or assisted the shooter. All three denied the charges and none took the stand to testify.
A small paramilitary organization called the New IRA, which stands against Northern Ireland’s peace process, claimed that one of its members accidentally shot the reporter while attempting to target police officers.
McKee had dedicated much of her journalism to documenting the lives of what she called “ceasefire babies” — the generation that came of age after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement brought an end to roughly three decades of sectarian conflict. She was emerging as a significant voice in chronicling the lasting impact of paramilitary violence carried out by Irish nationalists and those who supported Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom.
Her death drew widespread mourning. The prime ministers of both Britain and Ireland, along with political leaders from Northern Ireland’s Protestant and Catholic communities, were among the hundreds who gathered for her funeral. Her killing also played a role in prompting feuding politicians to revive Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government, which had collapsed in 2017.
Justice Smyth determined that McKee was murdered by a gunman who intended to kill or seriously injure police officers in order to “guarantee the oxygen of publicity” from the violent riot.
McKee’s sister spoke out after the verdict, saying the system had let her family down and pledging to keep fighting for justice. She condemned what she described as a culture of silence, pointing out that not one of the approximately 150 witnesses to the shooting had come forward.
“People are afraid to speak out, they are afraid to tell the truth, they are afraid to share information that they have,” said Nichola Corner. “That culture of silence needs to stop in Northern Ireland. It is unfair to victims and it completely allows people with blood on their hands to walk free.”
The National Union of Journalists, of which McKee was a member, along with the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, offered condolences to McKee’s family and voiced concern that those responsible for her death may escape accountability.
“The authorities must continue to pursue all legal avenues to establish accountability and ensure that those responsible for Lyra’s death are brought to justice,” said Felicity Garvey of Reporters Without Borders. “Journalists cannot work freely and safely if those who kill members of the press can do so with impunity.”
Six additional men were also on trial for charges tied to the riot, though not for involvement in the killing. Four of those men were acquitted of rioting charges. Christopher Gillen, 45, was found guilty of rioting and throwing fire bombs, while Kieran McCool, 57, was convicted of assaulting a community worker.
