Reports by forensic experts suggest that two of the Bloody Sunday victims, Mr Jim Wray and Mr William McKinney, were shot in the back, and there is corroborating evidence that Mr Wray was shot while lying on the ground, the inquiry heard yesterday.
After outlining a witness statement which described a paratrooper shooting Mr Wray as he lay on the ground in Glenfada Park, Mr Christopher Clarke QC, for the tribunal, said that, on the basis of that account, he had been murdered.
Mr Clarke said the evidence of Mr Joseph Mahon, who was himself shot and wounded, was "of the most graphic character". Mr Mahon did not give evidence to the Widgery inquiry in 1972.
Mr Mahon, who was aged 16 on Bloody Sunday, describes in his statement how he saw a group of four or five paratroopers coming into Glenfada Park North from the north-eastern entrance.
"A soldier in a distinctive jacket fired a number of shots from the hip. I would describe the way he fired the shots as in a `fan'. They were not aimed shots . . . I cannot say if the others also fired".
He says he ran towards the gap between Glenfada Park North and Glenfada Park South, and remembered banging on the wooden fences on the side of the pathway as he went, to see if any of them were open.
"I had run perhaps 20 or 30 yards when something hit me. I fell to the ground and lay sprawled on my stomach. My first thought was that I had been hit by a rubber bullet in the right leg . . . .
"I could see two bodies lying near to me. There was a body two or three feet behind me and to my right side . . . . He was also lying on his stomach with his face in my direction. He wore glasses and was wearing a heavy, dark coat.
"He looked a bit older than me and was in his 30s or 40s. He was moaning and called out: `I am hit, I am hit'. I now know this man to be William McKinney.
"I looked in front of me and saw another body. I now know it was Jim Wray . . . . [His] upper body was still moving but I cannot remember him saying anything. I heard a woman's voice shouting out, saying `Do not move, be still' . . .
"As I lay on my side, my face was looking towards the north and I saw a Para walking towards the body of Jim Wray. This was the same Para I had seen shooting from the hip . . . .
"He made no move to search McKinney or me and effectively he walked in a direct line towards Jim Wray. He did not try and search Jim Wray or to look for a weapon of any kind. He saw Jim Wray's shoulders move and realised he was still alive.
"The soldier then pointed the rifle at Jim Wray's back and fired two shots into his back at point-blank range. I could see Jim Wray's coat move twice. I was terrified and realised if the soldier saw me move he would shoot me as well. I lay quite still".
The witness says he then saw the soldier walk through the alleyway into Abbey Park and out of view. He heard more shots. After some time the soldier came back through the gap.
The statement continues: "I saw him take his helmet off and wipe his forehead with the back of his hand. His face was blacked up and I could see he had blond hair. He then shouted out: `I have got another one'. I heard another voice shout from behind me: `We are pulling out', and the blond soldier walked off in the direction of the north-eastern entrance to Glenfada Park North. I lay dead still".
The witness says he turned his head to look at this entrance "and I saw the same soldier standing there. He must have seen me move, because he got down on one knee and aimed his rifle at me. I turned my head to look the other way and prepared to die. Just then, I heard a woman's voice shout out, `Do not shoot - first aid'.
"I heard a shot. I have no memory of hearing a bullet pass me or strike anything. Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard a man's voice speaking to me. I can clearly remember my relief at hearing his Derry accent". The witness then describes being carried to a nearby house.
After reading the statement, counsel remarked: "On that account of the shooting of James Wray, he was murdered."
Counsel then referred to notes which appeared to be part of the Sunday Times archive documents previously referred to. Part of the notes purported to be of an interview with Mr Mahon on March 2nd, 1972.
Counsel noted there were discrepancies in this account as compared with Mr Mahon's inquiry statement, and in particular there was no reference to a soldier firing into James Wray's back as he lay on the ground.
However, counsel then read a further portion of Mr Mahon's statement in which he refers to the Sunday Times documents.
Mr Mahon comments that he can remember someone from the Sunday Times coming to interview him at his home, "but we did not prepare a written statement together and I was never given anything to sign".
He adds: "The statement appears to me to have been put together by someone from the Sunday Times after that visit, and it is not an accurate account of what happened to me on Bloody Sunday. What happened to me is what I have said in this statement".