THE self confessed killer of the Lurgan schoolboy Gavin Malcolm hopes to serve only eight years for his part in the April 1994 murder, Belfast Crown Court heard yesterday.
Thomas Glen Haggan (19), who admitted he had been a drugs addict as a schoolboy, denied the hope of a shorter sentence was his reason for giving evidence against three other Lurgan men accused of the killing.
Haggan made the admissions during his first day of cross examination by defence lawyers. Last week in court he named the men as his accomplices. The three, Private Jason Chittick (22) of Pines Park, Mr Keith Brown (23), Ashleigh Crescent, and Mr William Turkington (18), Munroe Avenue, Lurgan, Co Armagh, deny throwing the young schoolboy to his death from flats in the Mourneview Estate in the early hours of April 8th, 1994.
Haggan told Mr Brown's lawyer, Mr James Gallagher, that he decided to give evidence when asked after his own conviction at Craigavon Crown Court last year.
He also told the lawyer he understood his sentence was indefinite, but when pressed on how long he felt he would serve, Haggan replied "I'm not sure. I think it will be eight years."
"Where did you get the eight years from?" asked Mr Gallagher. "It's my own personal thought," Haggan said.
"Are you hoping for even better than that better than eight years, maybe four or five in total?" Mr Gallagher suggested. "If I done five years instead of eight, I would be happy," said Haggan.
Haggan, who admitted that he has been receiving visits from police in prison, denied either being offered a "deal" for his evidence, or that he had been "coached" on how to present it.
Haggan agreed that when he had jumped on Gavin Malcolm's head he was prepared to crush it. He also agreed with Mr Gallagher that he realised he could also have killed him, but rejected any suggestion that he had been "prepared to kill him".
"I don't know Why I done it," said Haggan, who denied that he had been so heavily under the influence of drugs that he could not remember. Earlier, Haggan told the jury that since he was 15 he had taken either ecstasy, speed, LSD or cannabis every others weekend.
But Haggan denied that he had taken drugs on the night of the murder, and claimed that although drugs were available to inmates of Maghaberry prison, where he is serving his sentence, he had now given them up. He said the drugs had made him "feel good", but since going to jail he had stopped taking them.
"I suppose if you wanted them you can get them I see no point in taking drugs any more," said Haggan. Pressed by Mr Gallagher "at what point" he stopped taking drugs, Haggan said it was since his conviction "I wasn't going anywhere at the weekends."
The trial continues today.