The Irish News, 29 August 2002:
Murder bullets lost, Ludlow family told
By Valerie Robinson
Two bullets used in the murder of Seamus Ludlow in 1976 have gone missing, the Dundalk man's family has been told.
Relatives of Mr Ludlow, a forestry worker who was gunned down by a loyalist gang, claim they were told that the bullets, which were given to the Northern Ireland authorities by gardai, could not be traced.
The ammunition was set to play a key role in a new inquest into the death of Mr Ludlow.
The inquest will be conducted by Louth Coroner Ronan Maguire at the request of the Republic's attorney general Rory Brady.
Mr Ludlow's family told the Irish News that several members had met Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan in Belfast earlier this year and were informed that two of the three bullets recovered from the body could not be found.
It is understood that a senior member of the Garda murder squad had requested in 1979 that two of the bullets be sent to the Northern Ireland forensic science laboratory for comparison with the ballistics evidence from the investigation of the loyalist murder of a young Protestant man in Co Down shortly after the Dundalk killing.
The Garda and the PSNI have refused to comment on claims that vital evidence in the Ludlow murder case has vanished.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mrs O'Loan confirmed that the police ombudsman had been contacted by the family but added that it was not in her remit to investigate the case further.
The suggestion that evidence from the murder investigation has gone missing is a second blow to Seamus Ludlow's relatives.
The family learned last week that the new inquest was likely to be hampered by the coroner's inability to compel witnesses to attend.
The Irish government is currently considering imposing hefty fines and prison sentences for individuals who ignore a summons to an inquest but any new law will not be in place before the Ludlow inquiry takes place.
It is also likely that the coroner will not be able to question potentially important RUC and British army witnesses because people based in Northern Ireland cannot be forced to attend inquests in the Republic.
I Homepage I I Top
I I Press Coverage I I Barron
Inquiry I I Terms of reference for Barron
Inquiry I I Meeting the Police Ombudsman
I I Fresh Inquest I I Celtic
League Support I I New
GuestMap Guest Book.
I
The Irish Independent, 19 July 2002: Fresh inquest into death of murdered man
The Irish News, 19 July 2002: Family welcome inquest 26 years after murder
The Irish Times, 19 July 2002: New inquest ordered into Louth man's death
The Dundalk Democrat, 20 July 2002: Second inquest to be held into the death of Seamus Ludlow
The Sunday Life, 28 July 2002: Inquest to name Ludlow killers
The Irish Examiner Online - Breaking News, 29 July 2002: Call for public inquiry into 1976 murder
Ulster Television (UTV), online 29 July 2002: Celtic League in demand over murder
The Examiner, 30 July 2002: Ludlow killers to be named
The Irish News, 6 August 2002: Celtic League to fight on for murder inquiry
The Argus (Dundalk), 23 August 2002: Coroner wants the law changed to compel witnesses to attend inquests
The Irish News, 27 August 2002, Loyalist victim's family call for answers
Copyright
© 2002 the Ludlow family. All rights reserved.
Revised: March 12, 2005
.