A Maghera man jailed for life for the murder of an RUC reservist more than 32 years ago could be released from prison in two years time.
Jailed: Seamus Kearney.
Constable John Proctor was shot dead by the IRA in the car park of Magherafelt Hospital in September 1981 after visiting his newborn son.
Seamus Martin Kearney (57), of Gorteade Road, Maghera, was jailed for life for the killing but under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement could be released from prison in two years time.
He had denied murder and possessing an Armalite AR15 rifle.
The trial hearing had been told a DNA sample found on a cigarette butt recovered from the scene of the killing at the time linked Kearney to the shooting.
The trial took place after the murder was reviewed by the Historical Enquiries Team which established current techniques could extract a DNA profile from the cigarette end.
Convicting Kearney, the judge said he was “satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt” the presence of DNA had come from the saliva of the defendant when he was smoking the cigarette.
Speaking after the sentencing the dead policeman’s son, Johnnie, who he had visited before he was shot, said it was “so sad” he never got to meet the man that brought him into the world.
He added:: “I’m happy the family can now have some closure, some justice, and can finally move on with our lives.”
In a statement read out on behalf of the family, the policeman’s niece, Lorna Torrence, said: “The family would like to take this opportunity to thank the HET and Serious Crime Team Branch and all who were involved for giving us a chance to seek justice where a great injustice was posed to our family.
“The life of John Proctor – although cut short by unjustly acts of a cowardly nature – will be remembered for his kindness, warmth and love for his family and his service in the RUC to maintain peace ,law and order to which he lost his life.
“After all these years of heartache and pain, he will never be forgotten.”
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