Man 'admits driving Nairac killer'
Accused linked to abduction car, court told
Kevin Crilly denies kidnapping Captain Nairac
A man allegedly linked to the disappearance of British Army officer Robert Nairac in the North 30 years ago admits driving the soldier's murderer, police claimed in court yesterday.
Hairs from the 29-year-old victim were discovered in the family car of defendant Kevin Crilly, a detective told Newry Magistrates' Court, Co Down.
Captain Nairac was kidnapped by an IRA gang in 1977 in south Armagh, beaten and shot, and his body dumped in a field in the Republic.
Detective Sergeant Colin Brown said: "The person he (Crilly) conveyed to a field has been convicted of carrying out the murder in that field."
Mr Crilly (57) denies two charges of false imprisonment and kidnap but admits being in the Three Steps Inn in Dromintee, south Armagh, on the night of the abduction.
Outside the pub, Capt Nairac was grabbed by a gang and driven to Ravensdale Forest, Co Louth, just across the border, where he was further assaulted in a bid to make him talk about his undercover role.
In an exchange with defence lawyer John Kearney, Det Sgt Brown said admissions had been made by the accused.
"He admitted taking another person to that field," he said.
Mr Kearney questioned whether it was the field where Capt Nairac was killed. The detective said the person he took to a field had been convicted of the murder.
The murderer police said Mr Crilly admitted driving was Liam Townson, sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Dublin court.
Det Sgt Brown added: "We can link him to that vehicle, that is the vehicle Capt Nairac was abducted in."
Disputed
Mr Kearney said there was no DNA to link his client to Capt Nairac and added that he disputed the link to the car.
"The height of the allegation, that there is a forensic connection between the deceased and the motor vehicle, and the height of that connection is a suggestion, as I understand it, that there were hairs from the deceased found in the vehicle in question," he said. "There was no evidence that he was driving it on the night in question."
Six men were convicted for their part in the killing, three for murder.
Mr Crilly, unemployed, from Lower Foughill Road, Jonesborough, south Armagh, returned after 27 years in America in 2004 and contacted the police's Historical Enquiries Team. His intervention followed a BBC documentary.
His solicitor told the court that under the early release provisions for paramilitary prisoners agreed following the 1998 Good Friday peace accord, his client could serve just two years in prison. He said Mr Crilly denied any involvement in the attack but admitted his presence in the area.
Mr Crilly was released on bail to reappear on July 17 at Newry Magistrates' Court.
- Michael McHugh
