Overview
- A judge at Belfast Crown Court cleared Paul McIntyre, Peter Cavanagh and Jordan Gareth Devine of murder on Friday after a non‑jury trial that ran intermittently over recent years.
- Lyra McKee was shot dead while observing disorder in Derry on April 18, 2019, when a masked gunman fired four shots toward police and one bullet struck her.
- Prosecutors had accused the three men of encouraging or assisting the shooter on a joint‑enterprise basis, but the judge found the prosecution’s case relied largely on circumstantial evidence.
- No individual has ever been charged with pulling the trigger, the family said the justice system had failed them and vowed to keep pursuing investigations and evidence.
- The killing was claimed by the New IRA and drove major public and political backlash in 2019 that helped restart Stormont talks, highlighting ongoing challenges in holding dissident actors to account.