A fresh inquest into the death of a Derry mother-of-six shot dead in her own garden over 40 years ago will take place in the city later this year.
Kathleen Thompson was killed at her Rathlin Drive home in Creggan by a bullet fired by a British soldier on November 6, 1971.
Shortly after midnight on that date, members of the Royal Green Jacket Regiment carried out a raid on a house in Rathlin Drive.
During the raid, a soldier, identified only as Soldier ‘D’, admitted firing eight rounds from his high velocity SLR rifle while in the area, directing shots into the rear of 129 Rathlin Drive.
Shortly after the raid Mrs Thompson, who was 47, was found dead in the rear in her home, killed by a single high velocity bullet which had struck her in the chest.
Neither Soldier ‘D’, nor any of the other soldiers who were with him at the time of the incident, were interviewed by the RUC after the shooting, a task which was instead delegated by the RUC to the Royal Military Police (RMP).
A decision not to prosecute Soldier ‘D’ was then taken by the then Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on August 4, 1972.
An inquest was held into Mrs Thompson’s death on November 2, 1972 before Major Hubert O’Neill, Coroner, where an open verdict was returned.
‘Soldier D’ did not attend the inquest.
This story is from the 13 March 2017 edition of Derry News.
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This story is from the 13 March 2017 edition of Derry News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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