A forensic re-examination of one of the most controversial of the Bloody Sunday killings has failed to conclusively support claims that one of the 13 victims shot dead in Derry 30 years ago was shot a second time in the back by a soldier from close range.
However, a forensic scientist, Mr Kevin O'Callaghan, one of two independent scientists engaged by the inquiry to reinvestigate aspects of the killings, told the inquiry yesterday that the "most likely explanation" was that Mr Jim Wray (22), one of four men who were shot dead in Glenfada Park, sustained a gunshot wound to the back as he lay on his left side on the ground.
Last year several witnesses told the inquiry's three judges that Mr Wray had been shot from point-blank range by a soldier as he lay on the ground already wounded.
Mr O'Callaghan said that was one of "three broad propositions" that would satisfy the angles of entry of the two bullets.
Before the 230th day of the inquiry started in Derry's Guildhall yesterday, a nephew of Mr Wray posed for photographs as he lay on the ground wearing the jacket that his uncle was wearing when he was shot dead on January 30th, 1972. The jacket showed bullet entry and exit holes, and the photographs were entered as new evidence to the inquiry.
Mr O'Callaghan said that in his opinion Mr Wray was hit by two bullets fired from his right.
"Despite the close proximity of the two entry wounds and the apparent similarity of the bullet tracks, they need not have been caused in very quick succession or by the same weapon," he said.
"There are three broad propositions that would satisfy the angles of entry of these two bullets if, as we believe, the same individual fired both shots.
"If James Wray was vertical, the shots must have been fired from below upwards, as if by someone lying on the ground; if the firer was standing and the shots were fired horizontally, James Wray must have been bending forwards and the shots must have been fired from his right. If James Wray was lying on the ground, the shots must have been fired from above and to his right as if by someone standing.
"The exit wound from wound one, lying on the left shoulder, is, in our opinion, a 'shored' exit, which indicates that the left shoulder was in contact with a firm surface and/or his clothing was pulled tight at the time that the bullet exited from this site.
"We believe that the most likely explanation for this is that James Wray lay on his left side on the ground when he suffered this wound," he said.
Mr Peter Clarke QC, for most of the Bloody Sunday soldiers, said the allegation "that a paratroop regiment soldier executed a wounded man on the ground in the company of his colleagues" was "critical to one of the central matters in this inquiry".