Bernadette Friel
Bernadette Friel was a 22-year-old Catholic shot dead in Derry on 19 October 1975.[1]
She had been engaged to a soldier in the British Army and was to have visited him in England, but his return from Cyprus had been delayed for a week.[2]
Shooting
On 19 October 1975 she was shot dead in a house in Derry, where she resided with Thomas Ramsay, a former soldier and her brother-in-law.[2][3] It was originally claimed that Bernadette Friel had died while taking part in Russian roulette.[2] Ramsay was jailed for a year after admitting manslaughter and served a concurrent sentence for other firearms offences.[2] However, the then Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland had accepted Ramsay's account and also ordered that no action be taken over the manslaughter offence.[3] At the time of her death, she had a four-year-old son.[4]
Inquiry
The Historical Enquiries Team investigated the death of Bernadette Friel and concluded that Thomas Ramsay should have been charged with murder.[2] While the circumstances remain unclear, the Historical Enquiries Team believe that Ramsay had deliberately shot Bernadette, then created a story about a game of Russian roulette as one of several lies he told to investigators.[2]
Her family has voiced suspicions about the way her killer was treated.[2]
References
- ↑ "Report finds soldier deliberately shot woman". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 George Jackson (19 October 2010). "Inquiry finds woman shot dead in Derry 35 years ago was murdered". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Henry McDonald (18 October 2010). "Soldier accused of Russian roulette lie over death of Bernadette Friel". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ↑ "Statement of Friel family in response to HET report". BBC News. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
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