A man jailed for the murder of two young British soldiers in Northern Ireland on Tuesday saw his convictions quashed as the court cited a lack of evidence in convicting him of the double-slaying.
Brian Shivers was sentenced to 25 years in prison last February for killing the soldiers, who were shot dead in 2009 outside the Massereene army barracks in Antrim town in an attack claimed by dissident republicans opposing British rule.
But 47-year-old Shivers, who has maintained his innocence, challenged his convictions and Belfast’s Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the verdict was unsafe.
Shivers, who is terminally ill with cystic fibrosis, will remain in custody while Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service decides whether to seek a retrial.
He was originally found guilty of setting fire to the getaway car used in the attack after police matched his DNA with samples found on burnt matches at the scene.
But the appeal court ruled that this was not sufficient proof that he was guilty of the murder as a secondary party.
“The court did not accept that a person who provides assistance after a murder with full knowledge of what has happened becomes guilty of murder,” the judgment summary said.
Shivers is also appealing six counts of attempted murder as well as one related to the possession of two firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
English soldiers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, were gunned down at the barrack gates in March 2009 as they collected a pizza delivery.
The republican Real IRA group claimed responsibility for the double murder.
Shivers’s co-accused, Colin Duffy, a high-profile republican, was acquitted of all charges, including the two murders.
N. Ireland soldier murder convictions quashed
