R v Kearney (Seamus Martin)
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Weatherup J |
| Judgment Date | 04 February 2014 |
| Neutral Citation | [2014] NICA 21 |
| Date | 04 February 2014 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
| Year | 2014 |
1
Neutral Citation No. [2014] NICA 21 Ref: WEA9129
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered: 04/01/2014
(subject to editorial corrections)*
IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NOTHERN IRELAND
________
R
-v-
SEAMUS MARTIN KEARNEY
_________
Before: Girvan LJ, Coghlin LJ and Weatherup J
________
WEATHERUP J (delivering the judgment of the Court)
[1] On 28 November 2013 His Honour Judge McFarland, Recorder of Belfast,
sitting without a jury, convicted the appellant of murder and possession of a firearm
with intent to endanger life. On 6 December 2013 the appellant was sentenced to life
imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years in respect of murder and a
concurrent sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment in respect of possession of the
firearm. On this appeal Mr Harvey QC and Mr Duffy represented the appellant and
Mr Murphy QC and Mr Russell represented the prosecution.
[2] The offences relate to events at the carpark at Mid-Ulster Hospital
Magherafelt on 14 September 1981 when John Proctor, a 25 year old police constable,
sustained multiple gunshot wounds from which he died. Mr Proctor arrived at the
hospital carpark at 6.45 pm that evening to visit his wife in the maternity wing, she
having given birth to their son some days earlier. He left his wife and child at about
8.50 pm to return to his car in the carpark. While he was in the carpark shots were
fired hitting Mr Proctor and his vehicle. A white Ford Escort sped out of the carpark
and was recovered by police later that evening. The white Ford Escort had been
taken from the owners by force earlier that evening.
[3] The centre of the carpark was laid out in 28 parking bays, being two rows of
14 parking bays. Tyre marks were found in the area described as bay 27 where the
white Ford Escort had been parked. Thirteen spent bullet casings were found in
bays 25 and 26. Two cigarette butts were marked by Constable Cunningham of the
police mapping section as located in bay 26. Two cigarettes, one marked cigarette
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