Glenn Quinn murder: Family believe threats are hindering quest for justice

The family of a terminally ill man murdered in County Antrim two years ago believe people have been intimidated from passing information to police.

Glenn Quinn, 47, was beaten to death at his Ashleigh Park home in Carrickfergus on 4 January 2020.

His family believe he was murdered by South East Antrim UDA after he spoke out against an attack on a friend's business.

Mr Quinn had no connections to any crime. His murder remains unsolved.

As a renewed appeal is made for information, Mr Quinn's mother Ellen Quinn said people know who was responsible for her son's murder but are not coming forward.

"A lot of people have been threatened that if they give information to police they would be sorted out," she added.

"Glenn didn't deserve what he got… they just hammered him and beat him so badly.

"They shouldn't be walking the streets of Carrickfergus."

Glenn Quinn's death in 2020 shocked the town of Carrickfergus and beyond

Mr Quinn's sister, Lesley Murphy, said: "We know members of South East Antrim UDA murdered my brother.

"And they have then used that organisation's name to instil fear in us and witnesses.

"They thrive on intimidation and fear and that is what they use against people to keep them in line.

"Communities shouldn't have to live like that."

'No mercy'

Mr Quinn was suffering from a blood condition when he moved into a flat in Carrickfergus just weeks before Christmas 2019.

The police say the involvement of South East Antrim UDA in Mr Quinn's murder is a line of inquiry.

He was initially attacked by a gang of men in the communal hallway outside his apartment block.

Mr Quinn's sister and mother believe he was murdered by South East Antrim UDA after he spoke out against an attack on a friend's business

Ms Murphy said her brother "had injuries from his feet to the top of his head".

"Almost every part of his body was injured," she added

"They showed him no mercy."

What is the South-East Antrim UDA?

The gang is a standalone faction of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

Formed in 1971 from a number of loyalist vigilante groups, the UDA's stated aims were to protect unionist communities from attacks by republican paramilitaries, but it went on to kill hundreds of people during the Troubles using a cover name - the Ulster Freedom Fighters.

The UDA was only proscribed, or declared illegal, in 1992 and, as the Troubles ended, the group began to fracture.

The South East Antrim UDA is one of Northern Ireland's largest paramilitary gangs.

According to a MI5-police intelligence assessment shared with BBC's Spotlight programme last year, the gang "has access to arms" and is "heavily involved in drugs supply, community coercion, intimidation and other criminality".

Last year, Spotlight reported the group was believed to have more than 2,000 members.

Former PSNI superintendent Ken Pennington said he considers them to be "a criminal cartel that have wrapped themselves in a flag".

Police have blamed a number of high-profile drug seizures in Carrickfergus and neighbouring areas to the group.

Glenn Quinn's body was found in Ashleigh Park in the Woodburn area of Carrickfergus on 4 January 2020

Det Ch Insp Neil McGuinness believes the Carrickfergus community holds the answers to move the police investigation forward.

"I do believe there are people who are not telling us information, not because they don't want to see justice for Glenn but because they're frightened," he said.

There is now a renewed appeal for information that could help police solve the murder.

• 'Break the silence about who killed my brother'

• Family appeal for information about paramilitary murder

"We're at the point now where we need people to come forward and help us out," Det Ch Insp McGuinness added.

"I'm begging the people of Carrickfergus to come forward by whatever means necessary and give me the information."

Police have said they will accept information anonymously through the Crimestoppers charity or via intermediators such as politicians.

Det Ch Insp McGuinness said Mr Quinn had "suffered a death at the hands of individuals who are probably still in the community and I want to bring them before the courts".

A reward of £10,000 has been offered by Crimestoppers for anyone who passes on information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for Mr Quinn's murder.