Lyra suspect, 52, took bullet casings after shooting, court told
Accused denied involvement 50 times to police
A MAN accused of killing journalist Lyra McKee during a riot removed bullet casings from the scene after she was shot dead, a judge heard yesterday.
Supporters of Paul McIntyre scuffled with police outside court claiming he was a ‘political hostage’ and ‘British scapegoat’ as he arrived for his first appearance in the dock.
McIntyre, 52, is charged with murdering Miss McKee, 29, who was shot by dissident republicans while observing a riot in Londonderry last April.
The New IRA said it carried out the killing. McIntyre’s lawyer Derwin Harvey told Londonderry Magistrates’ Court: ‘The allegation...is that Mr McIntyre is at this riot and a male shoots the gun and that Mr McIntyre, after the gun was shot, picks up the cases.’
He said the murder charge rests on a ‘snapshot’ of low- quality mobile phone footage allegedly showing a man wearing clothing matching McIntyre’s.
Mr Harvey said two witnesses police had spoken to described McIntyre as being between 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in, but he was in reality 5ft 2in, representing a ‘ massive discrepancy’.
McIntyre denied involvement in the murder more than 50 times during police interviews, the court heard. Mr Harvey said: ‘There is no clear evidence linking Mr McIntyre to this event.’
McIntyre is also charged with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and belonging to or professing to be a member of a proscribed organisation.
Judge Barney McElholm remanded McIntyre in custody as he adjourned the case until February 27. He expressed concern about sinister graffiti in the area where Miss McKee was killed and ‘vile’ posters showing a badly wounded police officer.
He said those behind such incidents were doing McIntyre ‘no good whatsoever’.
He stressed: ‘A young woman with her entire life ahead of her – and it was a very promising life – was murdered mindlessly and pointlessly.’ He added: ‘It is very important that the murderers of Lyra McKee are brought to justice, but we need to get the right people and every person deserves a fair trial.’ A detective told the court evidence included five hours of footage taken by an MTV camera crew making a documentary in the area. McIntyre supporters had held placards outside as they scuffled with up to 40 police. There were loud cheers as McIntyre, from Londonderry, was taken into the court. Miss McKee was standing near a police vehicle when she was hit by a bullet fired by a masked gunman towards officers. The Belfast-born writer was living in Londonderry with her partner, Sara Canning, who was also at court yesterday. Miss McKee was a gay rights activist who wrote for Private Eye and BuzzFeed. Her funeral was attended by Theresa May and Irish premier Leo Varadkar.