The Kingsmill massacre bore all the hallmarks of a mass execution, an inquest heard on Wednesday.
Retired State Pathologist Professor Jack Crane likened the atrocity to those carried out during ethnic conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo and claimed the number of bullets fired showed the gunmen intended to kill.
“It seems to me that, from a general perspective, what we have here would be in line with execution or assassination,” he said.
Professor Crane, a former senior pathology adviser to the UN, said every victim sustained multiple injuries. “What struck me was the very large number of bullets that were discharged into each body. One can only assume that was delivered in order to make sure that the individual was dead. Even allowing for the fact that there may have been an automatic weapon there still was a large number of bullets discharged into every body.”
Graphic and harrowing details of the extent of the injuries inflicted on the 10 textile workers were given to the court.
Their wounds were consistent with having been lined up facing the minibus and fired upon before being struck again while lying on the ground, it was revealed. Post-mortem examinations found they were all hit in the head, trunk and limbs.
The inquest has previously heard how 18-year-old Robert Chambers, the youngest of the victims, called out for his mother as he lay bleeding to death. He was struck at least eight times in the body and head, the court heard.
Professor Tom Marshall, who examined the teenager’s body, said: “If my interpretation is correct that he was first struck by a bullet that went through his loin fairly superficially and he fell to the ground he would still be capable of calling out for his mother.”
Robert Freeburn was riddled with bullets fired from more than one high-velocity weapon. There were five bullet holes in a horizontal line across his shoulders, it emerged.
“I would have thought this pattern was in keeping with somebody spraying somebody while they were standing,” said Professor Marshall.
Walter Chapman, (35), was hit by at least 13, but possibly 17 bullets, and died from wounds to his head, trunk and limbs. A post-mortem report found: "Some struck as, or after he collapsed."
Twenty-year-old John McConville suffered a laceration of the brain after he was shot in the head. He was hit up to eight times elsewhere on his body, the court heard.
Professor Crane, who reviewed the Kingsmill case at the request of the coroner, said Mr McConville’s death would have been rapid. “It is my view that the initial shots were sustained while Mr McConville was standing and then when he falls to the ground he is shot again,” he said.
Judge Brian Sherrard, who is presiding over the high-profile case, had earlier cautioned bereaved relatives packed into the public gallery about the distressing nature of the evidence. Although most people stayed in court as the graphic accounts were given, many choking back tears, a number of people found it too much and stepped outside the courtroom.
Judge Sherrard told the court that police should be given time to investigate the discovery of a palm print linked to the shooting lead, but said families were determined to push on with the inquest.
“My obligation to the deceased, to the families of the deceased and to the community as a whole, and in the interests of justice, demand that the police be allowed the opportunity to investigate this new lead,” he said. “That, however, cannot be an open-ended opportunity.
“I am acutely aware that more than 40 years have passed since the attack and that those closest to the deceased require answers while they are fit enough to participate.”
The significant development in the long-unsolved investigation into the killing of the textile factory workers in January 1976 emerged one week ago – a week after the inquest opened.
The getaway vehicle used by the killers was left abandoned across the Irish border. The palm print was discovered later.
It was re-examined by forensic scientists and a potential match on the police’s database was made. A relatively junior officer had read about the new inquest in the press and requested to re-examine the print, it was claimed.
“This has shaken the confidence of a number of families who now wonder who to believe and what they can believe,” said Judge Sherrard. “This is quite understandable given the timing of the revelation and the circumstances in which it is said to have arisen. These families wish the inquest to push on, despite this development, as they see it as the best way for them to gain an insight into the deaths all those years ago.”
While he acknowledged those closest to the deceased were most affected by their murders, the coroner added: “We as a community have lost 10 men as a result of what happened at Kingsmill. We as a community have an interest in determining who these men were, when they died, where they died, and perhaps most importantly how they died.
“Even if Article 2 of the European Convention (Human Rights), the right to life, is not fully engaged in this inquest, the inquest will provide an opportunity to examine the broad circumstances behind these 10 deaths. Part of that includes identifying who, and which organisation, if any, took part in this atrocity.”
The discovery of the palm print was likely to prove “invaluable” in allowing the inquest to answer key questions, the coroner noted.
“This is the first and best opportunity since 1976 to establish a verifiable link between the person who has been identified and the attack,” he said. “That link may produce many more leads.”
The men's minibus was stopped close to the Co Armagh village of Kingsmill on January 5th, 1976, and those on board were asked their religion by the gunmen.
The only Catholic was told to leave.
The gunmen, who were hidden in the hedges, ordered the rest to line up outside the van and then opened fire.
The 10 who died were John Bryans, Robert Chambers, Reginald Chapman, Walter Chapman, Robert Freeburn, Joseph Lemmon, John McConville, James McWhirter, Robert Samuel Walker and Kenneth Worton.
One man, Alan Black, survived, despite being shot 18 times.
No one has ever been convicted over the massacre.
A barrister representing the Police Service of Northern Ireland said the criminal investigation was progressing.
Peter Coll told the court: "The investigation into the palm print issue will continue and is under way. It is incumbent in all of us to ensure that nothing is done or said that will be to the detriment of the investigation or to this inquest or more widely, to the detriment of those who were killed, the sole survivor Mr (Alan) Black and the wider community so that truth and justice can be achieved."
The court was told a revised inquest timetable had been drawn up, but that evidence would be heard again on June 21st.