Four Derry men have been acquitted of murdering a British army lieutenant and have been freed by Belfast Crown Court 19 years after they originally went on trial.
The four, Mr Gerard Kelly (40) and Mr Stephen Crumlish, Mr Michael Toner and Mr Gerard McGowan, all 39, skipped bail after being bailed on the second day of their original trial in October 1980 for murdering Lieut Stephen Kirby (22) in Derry on St Valentine's Day 1979.
Prosecution lawyer Mr Patrick Lynch told the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Robert Carswell, that in the circumstances he did not propose to offer any evidence on the 14 charges the men faced.