AIDAN McANESPIE (23) was shot and killed by a high velocity shot fired by guardsman David Holden in an army tower in Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone nearly 300m away.
The soldier told investigators the shooting was accidental.
The PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team considered three possible scenarios: that the soldier accidentally discharged the machine gun as he had claimed; that he was tracking a man he considered a paramilitary suspect and inadvertently shot him as he was unaware the gun was cocked and ready to fire; or that he deliberately shot at Mr McAnespie.
Guardsman Holden denied he was tracking Aidan McAnespie or deliberately fired shots at him.
The team questioned the likelihood of an accidental and random discharge of shots which struck the road less than a metre from Mr McAnespie from a point more than 280 metres away.
“The statistical odds . . . are strongly against the accidental discharge account,” it said.
It added: “When the facts that the victim of this alleged random shot was a subject that the soldiers had kept under observation, and was perceived by them as a potential terrorist suspect, are added to the equation, then the likelihood that it was a random shot is even less. Add to this the minimum 9lb pressure required to pull the trigger and the probability of ‘accidental killing’ recedes even further.”
The inquiries team concluded it was unable to judge definitively whether the fatal shot was fired deliberately or unintentionally, but it did decide: “Guardsman Holden’s version of events, however, can be considered the least likely” and that is was unlikely the machine gun “was discharged in the circumstances, or in the manner, described by guardsman Holden.” Following the killing the soldier was interviewed, arrested and charged with manslaughter.
The charge was subsequently withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions at the time and the inquiries team’s re-examination of the case has found no legal grounds or new evidence to justify re-interviewing him or for submitting a file of evidence for reconsideration by the Public Prosecution Service.
Guardsman Holden was eventually fined for negligent discharge of the machine gun and given a medical discharge from the British army.
