Detectives investigating the murder of a man whose body was found in a lake nearly 30 years ago are to examine claims that soldiers carried out the killing, it emerged today.
Officers have asked to speak to anyone who was present when ex-Ulster Defence Regiment soldier Mr David Jordan allegedly broke down and said he was present at the murder of Co Tyrone councillor Patrick Kelly - and named other soldiers who carried it out.
The body of Mr kelly (33) was found with two 56lb weights strapped to his body in Lough Eyes, near Lisbellaw, Co Fermanagh.
The Catholic father-of-three, an Independent Nationalist member of Omagh District Council, disappeared after locking up the Corner Bar in the village of Trillick, County Tyrone, on July 24, 1974.
That same night bloodstains, shirt buttons and cartridge cases were found on the roadside a mile from the town where it is believed he met his killers.
His body floated to the surface of the lake three weeks later. He had been shot a number of times. Police had been under intense pressure to launch a fresh investigation into the murder amid allegations of collusion between his killers and the security forces.
Nationalists in the area had claimed that illegal mobile UDR checkpoints were operating in the area on the night Mr Kelly disappeared.
In January 1999, Mr Kelly's family claimed they had been told that Mr Jordan - who has since died - had broken down and confessed to being involved in the killing.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Hunter, who is heading up the inquiry team, said officers had four other specific lines of inquiry. He said they wanted to talk to any fishermen who used Lough Eyes around the time of the murder.
PA