Gunshot residue found in car of man charged with Kevin Conway murder

Gunshot residue was found in a car belonging to one of the men charged with the murder of Kevin Conway in west Belfast, a court has heard.

Two men appeared before Laganside Magistrates Court on Monday charged with the murder of Mr Conway (26), who was shot several times at his home on January 9th. When he was killed, Mr Conway had been on bail awaiting trial for the murder of Shane Whitla in Co Armagh last year.

Aidan O’Keefe (27), and Fergal Kane (53) were both charged with the murder of Mr Conway and possession of a firearm. Judge Steven Keown granted an interim restriction order prohibiting the publication of their home addresses due to security concerns.

Detective Chief Inspector McGuinness said he could connect Mr O’Keefe and Mr Kane to the charges. Detective McGuinness told the court that he believes two weapons, a handgun and a shotgun, were used in the attack.

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Police said they believe there were two vehicles, a white Toyota van and a BMW, involved in the shooting. The court heard that police could link Mr O’Keefe to the white van while the BMW could be traced to Mr Kane.

Detective McGuinness told the court that the BMW was seized after Mr Kane was arrested at the weekend and an examination of the car found cartridge discharge residue in the boot, front passenger footwell and driver’s seat.

Earlier, the court was told that the Toyota van was a company vehicle that was in Mr O’Keefe’s possession on the day of the murder. The van was fitted with a GPS tracker, which allowed police to trace the movements of the van.

Detective McGuinness said that on the day of the murder, Mr O’Keefe travelled from his home to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

“Mr O’Keefe enters the hospital at 17.43 hours. That’s captured on CCTV. He checks into the A&E department, then some three hours later, Mr O’Keefe leaves and pays for the parking, the van ignition turns on and that van then leaves the accident and emergency department.”

The detective told the court that Mr O’Keefe did not tell hospital staff he was leaving.

The court heard details of phone contact between numbers attributed to Mr O’Keefe and Mr Kane, and of the movements of the van and BMW.

Detective McGuinness said that Mr Conway sent a “voice memo” to his partner at 9.18pm saying he was playing on his PlayStation.

Police believe he was shot dead moments later as two men were seen on CCTV at 9.20pm retracing their steps back to the car and van.

GPS tracking data on Mr O’Keefe’s van shows that the engine switches on at 9.22pm and leaves the area. The van is followed seconds later by Kane’s BMW.

Minutes later, Mr O’Keefe is seen arriving at his home.

The court heard that a short time later, Mr O’Keefe received a phone call from the Royal Victoria Hospital, which police say was to inquire of his whereabouts.

The court was told that Mr O’Keefe arrived back at the hospital at around 10pm with his partner.

Following investigations, police arrested Mr Kane and Mr O’Keefe and seized the BMW.

Police discovered that the van had been returned to Mr O’Keefe’s work colleague, and following subsequent enquiries, the van was found outside the colleague’s house.

Plain-clothed officers in an unmarked vehicle parked nearby and saw three men dressed in black go to the back of the van, however, they left after police shouted a warning.

“It’s my belief that those men were there to either destroy the van or to take it away and put it out of police hands for this investigation,” Detective McGuinness added.

The court also heard that three mobile phones were found in the BMW, but Mr Kane has refused to give police the phone passcodes. Neither of the men have answered police questions in custody, the detective said.

The case has been adjourned until February 20 to allow for bail applications. – PA