The bullet which killed Belfast teenager Ms Karen Reilly more than eight years ago was not fired through the back of the stolen Vauxhall Astra car in which she was a passenger, it was claimed in Belfast Crown Court yesterday.
This evidence was given by Dr Graham Renshaw, a forensic firearms expert called by the defence in the retrial of Paratrooper Lee Clegg, who was found guilty of murdering Ms Reilly (18) in September, 1990.
Dr Renshaw was being questioned about the findings of his initial report into the shooting in July, 1996. He had concluded in this report that the "Hole 4" shot in the back of the Astra car could not have caused the 2-3mm wound in Ms Reilly's back.
On the basis of 150 test firings he had carried out, that wound would have been caused by a bullet fired through the window of the near-side passenger door, he told Mr Justice Kerr. Dr Renshaw also said that the bullet fired through "Hole 4" did not hit Ms Reilly, but had fragmented and could have struck either the front console of the car or the front-seat passenger or driver.
In his opinion, the bullet recovered from Ms Reilly's body, known as the "Clegg bullet", could not have entered "Hole 4", but it was consistent with having being fired through "Hole 8" in the side door of the Astra. Asked if he had any doubts at all about that, Dr Renshaw replied: "Not at all."
The witness admitted that his initial test firings had been carried out using ammunition coded "L2A1", which predated that used by Clegg and other members of his patrol on the night of the shooting. They had used ammunition coded "L2A2". But Dr Renshaw claimed that the tests results had not been invalidated by use of the "softer" ammunition, as they had been backed up later when the "L2A2" ammunition was used.
On the basis of his tests, if the "Clegg bullet" had been fired through "Hole 4", then he would have expected to see the rifling marks on it obliterated on the side which had impacted with the back seat of the Astra car. He said that bullets he had fired through the rear of the car, which had then struck the back seat, showed severe impact damage - damage which was absent from the "Clegg bullet".
The prosecution maintains that the bullet recovered from Ms Reilly's body, the "Clegg bullet", was fired by Clegg through "Hole 4" into the rear of the car.
The trial continues today.