Prosecution concludes in Soldier F murder trial

Soldier F is accused of murdering James Wray (left) and William McKinney

The prosecution case has concluded in the trial of Soldier F who is accused of murdering two men on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry.

Soldier F, whose anonymity is protected by a court order, denies murdering James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, as well as five counts of attempted murder.

The two men were among 13 people who were shot dead by the Parachute Regiment at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of Derry in January 1972.

On Friday, the court in Belfast heard the results of post-mortem examinations carried out on Mr McKinney and Mr Wray detailing the nature and extent of their injuries.

They were read to the court by a prosecution barrister as part of a set of agreed facts, which he outlined before the prosecution closed its case.

Agreed facts in court are matters or pieces of evidence that both parties accept as true and do not dispute.

The court heard both men's deaths were rapid but not instantaneous.

Mr McKinney had been shot once, while Mr Wray had been shot twice.

The results of forensic testing carried out on both men were also heard in court.

Those tests concluded that neither man had been handling explosives or weapons on Bloody Sunday.

No 'reliable recollection'

Also mentioned in the agreed facts was a statement Soldier F provided to police in March 2016 when officers interviewed him on two occasions.

In the statement he said he was sure he properly discharged his duties as a soldier on Bloody Sunday but no longer has "any reliable recollection of these events".

He said he would not be drawn into "speculating or guessing" and was "not, therefore, able to answer your questions".

The court was also told Soldier F is a man with no previous convictions.

A defence barrister told the court he intends to launch a no case to answer application next week.

The case is being heard by a judge sitting without a jury at Belfast Crown Court.

The former paratrooper has entered pleas of not guilty to all the charges.

The trial continues.

Who is Soldier F?

Soldier F is a former British soldier who served with the Army's Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He cannot be named due to an interim court order granting his anonymity.

The decision to charge Soldier F was taken by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in 2019.

He was one of 18 former soldiers reported to the PPS as a result of a police investigation, which followed the public inquiry into Bloody Sunday conducted by Lord Saville.

But he was the only one charged.

Two years later, the PPS dropped the case after the collapse of the trial of two other veterans who had been accused of a 1972 murder in Belfast.

But the prosecution resumed in 2022 after a legal challenge.