Two 'Disappeared' Met Violent Deaths

An inquest has found that two of the so-called 'disappeared' met unlawful and violent deaths at the hands of a paramilitary.

The jury at the Dublin Coroner's Court returned verdicts of death by unlawful killing at the inquests of Charles Armstrong and Gerard Evans. The person or persons who committed the murders remain unknown.

The IRA admitted in 1999 that it murdered and buried at secret locations nine of the 'disappeared'. Seven of these bodies have been confirmed as found but others remain missing.

Searches have been carried out by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains( ICLVR), established in 1999 by treaty between the British and Irish governments to obtain information which may lead to where the bodies are buried.

It has been reported by The Belfast Telegraph how the daughter of Mr Armstrong last night appealed for anyone with information to come forward and help other families who, "still haven't got peace of mind".

Speaking outside the court, Anna McShane said she was glad the inquest was over and that it had brought closure.

"Hopefully, maybe when people see the relief we've got, they will come forward and help other families," she said.

She said she believed her father, "was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. . . an innocent man. . ."

Mr Armstrong (54), from Rathview Park, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, a father of five, was abducted on August 16, 1981. The next day his car was found and gun residue was dectected in the front passengers seat. No weapon was ever found.

It was 30 years later that Mr Armstrong's body was uncovered in a wild and barren peat bog at Colgagh, Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, weighed down with large stones.

He had no known connection with paramilitaries, his inquest heard yesterday. Indeed when the original list of nine, was released by the IRA in the late 90s, Mr Armstrong’s name was not on it. Neither was the name Gerard Evans.

A second inquest into the death of Mr Evans heard that his body was discovered in a flooded bog in a dig at Carrickrobin in Co Louth on October 15, 2010, close to a number of other burials. The remains also appeared to be weighed down with stones.

Mr Evans (24), who was also from Rathview Park, was last seen by his aunt Bernie McGeown in a pub in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, on March 25, 1979.

Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for either of the men's deaths.

(LB/GK)