£30,000 reward offered to catch the killers of teenager Jonathan Cairns 16 years ago
A REWARD of £30,000 has been offered to catch the killer or killers of Jonathan Cairns more than a decade and a half ago.
The 18-year-old was beaten to death on his way back to his Co Derry home from a night out 16 years ago.
Police re-opened the investigation in 2012 in a fresh bid to nail his murderers.
Detectives investigating the murder of the Ballykelly teenager believe understanding the motive is the key to solving the crime.
Jonathan was murdered in April 1999 after going for a night out with friends at the Droppin’ Well nightclub.
Not a day goes past that his loving parents Raymond and Hazel don’t think about their son and why he was so savagely taken from them.
“He was beaten so badly that we couldn’t have an open coffin,” said dad Raymond.
“He had foot prints on his face and part of his brain was found in a bush in the garden of my mother’s house next door.
“That’s how savage his murder was and how close he was to getting home that night.
“He was steps from his granny’s and a few strides to ours.”
The couple were told they would not be permitted to see their son’s remains such was the extent of the injuries.
But heartbroken mum Hazel says she could not bear the thought of not holding her sons hand for the very last time.
“His head was stamped on and stamped on. It was like a turnip,” she said.
“I was told I couldn’t see him but I had to. He was bandaged all over, all I was allowed to see was his hand but that was enough.
“I needed to see it because it was so different from my other two children’s.
“Only when I saw his hand, then I knew that I could accept that it was my son and that there had been no mistake.”
It’s the kind of anguish only a grieving mother could understand, the thought of not touching her son again was unbearable.
Sixteen long and painful years on for the Cairns family, the killer or killers still remain at large.
One man, Philip McGroarty (31) was jailed in 2002 for five years for allowing his car to be used to transport the body to a shallow grave in Ballykelly.
Judge Tom Burgess described his actions as “despicable” but to this day McGroarty has kept his silence as to who the killer or killers were.
The officer in charge of the inquiry, Det Ch Insp John McVea from the PSNI’s Major Investigation Team,, said he was convinced some people in the village knew who had carried out the crime.
He said Jonathan had been beaten with some kind of implement and even though the murder had taken place 13 years ago, people had a moral and legal responsibility to tell the police what they knew.
“Jonathan died a violent death as a result of a vicious beating which went far beyond a drunken assault,” he said.
“I believe his killer or killers were local to Ballykelly and they might have known Jonathan.
“His parents still don’t know why he was attacked on his way home after a night out. They deserve an answer and they deserve justice for their 18-year-old son.”
A £30,000 reward has now been offered to help catch the killer or killers.
Anyone with information about the murder is asked to contact detectives on the 101 non emergency number.
Or alternatively information can be passed anonymously through the freephone Crimestoppers number on 0800 555 111.
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