A man accused of a 16-year-old republican execution has had the murder charge against him dropped, a judge heard today.
Gary Marshall (45) has now been charged with the kidnapping of Kevin Conway, Craigavon Magistrates Court heard.
A preliminary enquiry was scheduled to take place today but defence solicitor Peter Corrigan applied for that to be adjourned, telling the court that despite the lesser charge, a senior barrister had opined the state of the evidence was not sufficient to warrant putting Mr Marshall on trial.
Mr Marshall, from Ennis Green in Lurgan, is now accused of kidnapping 30-year-old Mr Conway on a date unknown between February 16th-19th, 1998.
Having been kidnapped from his Lurgan home, the body of the married father of four was found on farmland at the Soldierstown Road near Aghalee on February 17, his head hooded, hands tied behind his back and shot through the head.
Mr Corrigan has previously submitted that Mr Marshall "vehemently denies the allegation" and in court he said Mark Mulholland had given an opinion that evidence would have to be called as part of a preliminary investigation before a prima facie case could be established against Mr Marshall.
The solicitor said that hearing would require a “special day” and revealed the defence would be calling five witnesses to rebuke the police evidence.
Detectives arrested Mr Marshall in Birmingham last December after carrying out a review of the original RUC murder investigation and the court has previously heard that Mr Marshall could allegedly be connected to the execution by soil and forensic fibre evidence.
Mr Marshall was arrested and questioned during the original investigation but refused to speak to police over the course of 20 interviews until forensic evidence was put to him.
It was claimed that Mr Marshall’s red Vauxhall Nova had been used in the killing and that original examination of the car had uncovered fibres from Mr Conway’s shirt on the back seat and that recent, further examinations uncovered more fibres from the murdered mans shirt on both the upright and seated parts.
Attended by murdered solicitor Rosemary Nelson during the original investigation, Mr Marshall claimed the fibres were there because Mr Conway had helped him with a child’s car seat but according to the police case, that explanation is not consistent with the forensic findings.
An investigating officer further claimed that another forensic scientist had opined there was a “range of similarities” between soil debris found in the footwell of the Nova car and the derelict building where Mr Conway’s body was found.
In the more recent series of interviews Marshall again chose to remain silent.
Mr Marshall was released on continuing bail and district judge Des Perry said he would fix a special day when the case is next before the court in January next year.