Three Men Cleared of Journalist Lyra McKee’s Murder
Three Derry men were found not guilty of murdering the journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot in the head when a masked gunman fired towards police during rioting in Londonderry in April 2019. In a non-jury trial at Belfast Crown Court, the judge found the evidence insufficient to convict. McKee’s family said the justice system had “completely failed” her and vowed that “no stone will be left unturned” in the pursuit of justice.
McKee’s killing was the most resonant act of dissident-republican violence of the post-Troubles era: it drew global condemnation and helped restart the talks that restored devolution at Stormont. Seven years on, an acquittal leaves one of Northern Ireland’s most prominent murders unsolved in law, and puts the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service under scrutiny over how the case was assembled. For journalists in Northern Ireland, who continue to face threats, the outcome lands hard. Watch the PSNI’s response, and whether the investigation is formally reopened.