Police handling of the investigation into the murderous assault on Robert Hamill is the focus of inquiries which are expected to reach conclusions in the New Year, writes Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor
Robert Hamill was beaten unconscious by a loyalist mob within yards of an RUC Land Rover in Portadown over five years ago. "Die, you Fenian bastard," some shouted as Mr Hamill was knocked senseless. He died 11 days after the attack. Nobody was convicted of his murder.
A police warning shot would have scattered those beating her brother, Diane Hamill is convinced. "All one of them had to do was stick their arm out of the Land Rover and fire a shot or two in the air, and Robert would be alive today," she says.
Four years older than Robert, she was close to him. "Robert was a big fellow, he was good natured, he enjoyed life. He loved sports, hurling and football, but really he lived for his two boys," she adds. At the time of his death he had two young children, Shane and Ryan.
Robert Hamill's partner Caroline was pregnant at the time. He never saw his daughter Nicole who was born three months after the murder.
Diane Hamill feels deeply that Robert and those close to him have suffered a terrible injustice. She is still angry at how her brother was murdered and at how police subsequently handled, or mishandled, the case. "But I am not bitter or twisted. If you get like that you are beaten - you won't be able to succeed in your objective to get justice, and we want justice."
The prospects of anyone being convicted for his murder do not seem promising. But this is still unfinished business. Canadian judge Peter Cory is examining the case to decide if an independent inquiry is warranted. The Police Ombudsman, Mrs Nuala O'Loan, is also investigating disturbing aspects of the police handling of the case.
The Ombudsman's officers have questioned a number of people and charges against one or more police officers could follow shortly in relation to how they carried out the investigation.
There is evidence of serious faults, and worse, in how some police officers conducted themselves before, during and after his assault in Portadown town centre in April 1997. Centrally the allegations relate to negligence, incompetence, collusion and a possible sectarian mindset.
The main claims against police, which the Ombudsman is examining, are:
They failed to intervene as Robert Hamill and one of his friends were beaten unconscious by the mob.
A still-serving but now suspended officer is accused of telling a suspect how to destroy evidence that could connect him to the murder, and of also briefing him on how the investigation was proceeding.
A married couple admitted providing a false alibi for the officer.
Another Portadown police officer could face disciplinary proceedings over how he conducted an interview with a witness who was crucial to exposing the alleged false alibi. It is claimed that he accepted at face value an alibi for the same suspect even though he should have known that the alibi was false.
Police failed to maintain the assault scene and did not detain suspects on the night.
Perhaps the most disquieting allegation is that one of the officers in the Land Rover, a member of the full-time police reserve, advised one of the suspects how to avoid detection, and also kept the suspect briefed on developments in the investigation.
It is alleged that the officer instructed the suspect on how best to destroy incriminating evidence, including clothing.
This allegation first emerged when a local priest and Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson, who was subsequently murdered by the LVF, were told by an anonymous caller of the possible collusion. They believed the information came from a police officer appalled at what was unfolding.
A Portadown couple, James and Andrea McKee, now separated, found themselves embroiled in this aspect of the case after they tried to protect the reserve policeman by providing a false excuse for him.
While the reserve constable is accused of making a phone call to the suspect some hours after the attacks, the McKees told police that it was Mr McKee who actually made the call to the suspect in the constable's house.
The McKees pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice. Mr McKee was sentenced to six months' imprisonment while Ms McKee received a suspended six months' sentence. The officer is suspended but so far has not been charged with any offence.
A second police officer in Portadown is also being investigated by the Police Ombudsman's office. This is based on a claim that a female witness in the company of Ms McKee initially told that second officer that the reserve constable allegedly tipped off one of the suspects.
And then in a bizarre twist it is alleged that Ms McKee later provided the false alibi for the reserve constable to the same officer.
He appeared to record this evidence at face value even though from his conversation with the other witness - who was then in the actual company of Ms McKee - he should have known this alibi was highly suspect, if not preposterous.
The police also issued a series of contradictory statements about the killing, initially suggesting that Mr Hamill died as a result of a confrontation between opposing nationalists and loyalists, but eventually conceding that he was the innocent victim of a sectarian loyalist assault.
Robert Hamill had no chance to defend himself when he was attacked as he was returning home from a social night at St Patrick's Hall on Thomas Street around 1.45 a.m. on Sunday, April 27th, five years ago, according to Robert's cousins, Joanne and Siobhan Girvan, and Joanne's husband Gregory Girvan who were with him that ill-fated night.
They were heading towards their home in the Catholic Obins Street area of the town and knew they first had to pass a town centre flashpoint at the junction between Thomas Street and Market Street. They saw a small crowd at a crossroads near Market Street but could not see around the corner into Market Street.
They saw an RUC Land Rover parked near the junction and decided it was therefore safe to proceed. But when they entered Market Street a crowd of about 30 people gathered there attacked them. Robert Hamill was knocked unconscious almost immediately, possibly after being hit by a bottle.
The crowd hit him while he lay on the ground, some shouting "Die you Fenian bastard." Mr Girvan was also knocked unconscious.
Joanne and Siobhan Girvan screamed for assistance from the police, who were parked approximately 20 yards away but, they said, none of the officers appeared to get out of the vehicle at a time when they could have been in a position to halt the assault or alleviate its affects, and possibly save Mr Hamill's life.
Police deny these claims. They also say that such was the crowd involved that they were not in an immediate position to intervene. Diane Hamill challenges this.
"My whole point is that they were in a position to intervene, but they didn't."