A man accused of fleeing to the United States after the abduction of Captain Robert Nairac was cleared yesterday of involvement in the murder of the undercover soldier by the IRA.
Kevin Crilly, 60, was acquitted by a judge of murder, kidnapping and false imprisonment at the end of a trial without a jury at Belfast Crown Court.
Captain Nairac, a Grenadier Guardsman, was abducted from the Three Steps Inn, Dromintee, South Armagh, in May 1977. Posing as an IRA man from Belfast, he had been singing Irish rebel songs in the pub. The month-long trial heard that his reason for going there was not known. He was confronted in the pub car park by a group of men who beat him up and bundled him into the boot of a Ford Cortina, from which forensic scientists later recovered strands of his hair.
In a field near Ravensdale Forest, Co Louth, he was severely beaten again before being shot dead. His remains have never been found. Liam Townson, an IRA commander who was convicted of his murder, told police: “He never told us anything — he was a great soldier.”
Mr Crilly, who was accused of driving the gunman to the scene, was alleged to have disappeared within hours of being questioned by police about the abduction. The judge, however, questioned the credibility of a police witness who claimed to have interviewed Mr Crilly.
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The defendant lived in the US, returning to Northern Ireland three years ago. He was arrested after being interviewed by a BBC documentary crew about the murder.
Yesterday Mr Justice Richard McLaughlin said: “The prosecution has not proved beyond reasonable doubt the state of knowledge or intention necessary to transform the transporting of Townson by Crilly to an unspecified place at an unspecified time into a knowing participation in a potential murder. For these reasons I find the accused not guilty.”
The judge added that Mr Crilly’s comments to the BBC crew, that he saw “a battle” in the pub car park, were not sufficient to prove that he was guilty of kidnapping.
Timeline:
1977 - Captain Robert Nairac, undercover soldier, abducted, tortured and shot by IRA; Liam Townson found guilty of murder and jailed for life at the Special Criminal Court, Dublin.
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1978 - Five more men are convicted in connection with the case, two of murder.
1990 - Liam Townson is released from prison after serving 13 years.
2008 - Kevin Crilly is arrested in Jonesboro, South Armagh, for Captain Nairac’s kidnap
2011 – Crilly is cleared of murder and kidnapping charges