I’ve no daddy to give me away at my wedding, says stab victim’s daughter
THE daughter of murdered loyalist Ian Ogle has hit out at his killers for depriving her of “a father who was due to give me away at my wedding”.
On Monday, east Belfast came to a standstill as more than 1,000 mourners gathered at the funeral of Mr Ogle, who was stabbed in the back 11 times and suffered horrific injuries including a fractured skull in an attack by a group of at least five men.
The savage assault took place yards from his Cluan Place home just before 9.30pm on January 27.
Yesterday, a 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, marking the 13th arrest in relation to the killing. He was later released on police bail pending further enquiries.
Twelve people who had previously been arrested — 10 men and two women — have all since been released.
Mr Ogle’s daughter Toni Johnston-Ogle (27) has said her family endured 18 months of intimidation over accusations that her 23-year-old brother Ryan gave a “dirty look” to someone she believed to be a UVF member in a bar.
In an emotional social media tribute yesterday, Toni hit out at
The funeral of Ian Ogle (inset) in east Belfast
Mr Ogle’s murderers for depriving her of “a father who was due to give me away at my wedding”.
“To the men who tore my family’s life apart — you’ve taken away my daddy,” she said.
“I was a daddy’s girl through
and through. You’ve taken away my brother’s first and last best mate.
“You’ve taken away my mummy’s first and last love. You’ve taken away my nanny and gran- da’s second born son.
“You’ve deprived me of a father who was due to give me away at my wedding and if me and Ryan go on to have children you have deprived them of a grandfather. I wonder how you can actually live with yourselves?
“Or maybe you don’t even care because you are all able to still give your children a hug and a
kiss.” At Mr Ogle’s funeral service in the Covenant Love Church earlier this week, Toni said that she and her brother were “going to be lost without him, but we have to be there for my mummy”.
“He was her first love, and last,” she said. “I’m just going to leave it at that, but daddy, deserted you stood alone.”
Earlier this week, a statement posted on behalf of the family on social media thanked supporters who donated over £13,000 to cover Mr Ogle’s funeral expenses.
It said: “This has been a massive help to the family and a huge weight off their shoulders for the funeral expenses and even the headstone expenses in the next few months.”
In a statement released to the Irish News last week, the UVF said it was “seeking answers as to who carried out this attack” and “wholeheartedly condemned” the actions of those responsible.
The terrorist group added that whoever carried out the murder “did not do it in the name of loyalism or the UVF”.
But the PSNI subsequently confirmed that one line of enquiry is that Mr Ogle was murdered by members of East Belfast UVF.