Accused Constable Carroll Killers Bugged

It has been revealed that undercover soldiers secretly bugged the car of one of the men accused of murdering Constable Stephen Carroll in 2009 with a tracking device.

The terrorists' plan was to kill any policeman in Craigavon after smashing a window in a private house, knowing that the PSNI would respond.

The two men on trial, charged with the murder of Constable Carroll in Craigavon three years ago have denied charges put to them.

Former Sinn Fein councillor Brendan McConville, 40, and John Paul Wooton, 20, deny charges of murder and possession of an AK47 assault rifle.

The prosecution counsel however said that DNA and other evidence could tie the pair to the murder.

It is alleged that the accused gunmen shot Constable Carroll from a distance of 50 metres with a AK47 rifle as he responded to the callout.

Mr Wotton’s car, which had been bugged, was parked close to the scene of the attack and drove off within minutes of the killing.

A coat, found in the boot of the car, it is claimed had remnants of gun residue and the DNA of Mr McConville. Prosecution are suggesting that the murder weapon, which was later recovered from under an oil tank at an address in the Pinebank area of Craigavon, was wrapped in the coat.

Mr McConville who is denying the charges refused to answer detective’s questions during over 40 police interviews. He only read a statement, which said he was not part of any proscribed organisations, and that the coat recovered from the boot of Mr Wotton’s car did not belong to him.

Mr Wotton who was interviewed by police nearly 40 times also refused to answer any questions.

Constable Carroll was the first police officer to be killed since the formation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). He had gone to Lismore Manor, in Craigavon, County Armagh, after a woman called police when her window was broken. He was shot through the rear window of his police car when he arrived at the scene

(LB)