A farmer shot dead at his home in Northern Ireland may have been the victim of a feud over sheep-rustling, it emerged today.
Mr Patrick Devine's body was found with head wounds at his isolated farmhouse in Co Derry. Detectives believe the gunman opened fire through a kitchen window.
Mr Devine, who was in his late forties, lived alone in remote countryside, six miles from the village of Claudy. He was discovered slumped in the hallway by his brother at noon yesterday.
Although there were no obvious signs of a break-in, bullet holes were spotted in a window near where the victim lay.
A post-mortem is being carried out to find out how long he had been dead.
As well as working as a psychiatric nurse, Mr Devine ran one of the biggest sheep farming operations in the north west.
Earlier this year, his younger brother was beaten by a gang wielding baseball bats, and police are trying to establish if the shooting is connected to that attack.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Hunter, the officer leading the investigation, confirmed his officers were examining a possible row connected to stock.
He said: "One line of inquiry we are following is that there may have been a dispute over the possession of sheep. "We are currently researching this issue."
But Mr Hunter added: "At this moment I'm not able to rule paramilitary involvement in or out."
PA