Tell us what you know!
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Ryan Quinn’s mother and grandmother appear alongside Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison to appeal for fresh information on the teenager’s murder.
DETECTIVES believe they know who was involved in the murder of Ryan Quinn but witnesses could be withholding information likely to secure convictions.
The 14-year-old was killed on train tracks behind McLaughlin's Bar on the Ballyreagh Road on January 30, 2009. He was beaten and chased before becoming trapped on the line.
Despite a desperate phone call to his father, Ryan was struck by a train travelling between Portrush and Coleraine.
One year on, police are waiting to hear whether two suspects, arrested at the time but later released, will be charged by the Public Prosecution Service.
Police believe new information could hasten a conviction and for that reason a fresh appeal was launched this week ahead of the anniversary of Ryan's death.
Alongside Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison, who is leading the investigation, sat Ryan's mother Lisa Kinnaird at Friday's press conference.
She spoke of the night which devastated the lives of her family and begged those present at McLaughlin's Bar to "search within their hearts".
Police don't know whether anyone else was aware of Ryan's desperate predicament in his final few minutes - whether raising the alarm would have saved his life. But that changes nothing, as far as the investigation goes, they are convinced people know how and why he ended up on the railway track.
“From day one this was treated as a murder investigation and it continues to be," said Det. Chief Inspector Harrison. "I believe there are others in the local community who have significant information."
Following the murder 253 statements were taken including 60 from people who were present in the bar where Ryan had been attending an 18th birthday party.
Some of those spoken to were identified as witnesses from partygoers' mobile phone footage.
Subscribe to read full newspaper »
Send to a friend
Please complete the following form to inform a friend about this page.
