An Antrim man, Trevor McKeown, swore at a judge who convicted and jailed him for life yesterday for the "despicable" sectarian murder of a Catholic woman, Ms Bernie Martin, in 1997.
However, McKeown, a brother of loyalist super-grass Clifford McKeown, could be freed in a year. He is eligible under the Belfast Agreement to apply for early release in July 2000.
Following his outburst at Belfast Crown Court, trial judge Lord Justice McCollum said McKeown (37) from Coronation Gardens, Aghalee, Co Antrim, had shown himself still "to be a violent and unstable man". The judge said this would have to be borne in mind by the proper authorities when they come to consider McKeown's early release.
When the judge announced his guilty verdicts, McKeown shouted from the dock: "You done Billy Wright, you bastard." He continued with his tirade of abuse before being forcefully removed from the dock and was not in court to hear the judge's reasons for his conviction.
The judge eventually told McKeown, whose counsel apologised for his client's outburst, that he'd been convicted of a "despicable crime" and that he'd used the knowledge he'd gained "through the friendship and hospitality" of the family of the murdered girl's Protestant boyfriend to murder Ms Martin, who was shot in bed as she lay sleeping with her boyfriend.
During his trial three months ago, the prosecution claimed McKeown used the same .22 Spanish Star pistol to murder Ms Martin on July 15th, 1997, as was used to murder Catholic taxi driver Mr Michael McGoldrick a year earlier.
They also claimed he shot Ms Martin in a drunken rage after two friends told him Mr Gordon Green had objected to them singing loyalist songs as they paraded about with two loyalist flags.