Police hoping forensic advances could identify UDA murder suspects

Police believe the South East Antrim UDA was behind a number of brutal murders. Credit: PA

Police are undertaking forensic re-examinations of a number of a killings carried out by the South East Antrim UDA in the hope advances in technology will help identify suspects.

The unusual move has been taken over four brutal killings spanning more than two decades.

The loyalist paramilitary grouping has long terrorised communities in Carrickfergus and the surrounding area, exerting control and claiming lives.

Among those killed was Glenn Quinn – a terminally ill 47-year-old who was beaten to death in his home by a gang armed with baseball bats and a metal bar.

Now, every scrap of evidence taken from his flat at Ashleigh Park in Carrick will be re-examined.

However, it is what could be gleaned from other cases that could prove more significant and benefit from advances in DNA testing.

Other cases being re-examined include Charles Strain, who was also beaten to death in his Carrickhome in 1998, Thomas Hollran – who suffered a similar fate eight years later – and missing Glengormley man Mark Gourley, whose body has never been found after his disappearance in 2009.

“There’s a recurrence in terms of the names across a number of these cases,” PSNI Superintendent Jason Murphy told UTV.

“Which leads me to the conclusion that some of these offenders may have been involved in multiple murders.”

Only time will tell if the new investigations will yield results.

But the family of Glenn Quinn say they will wait as long as it takes for justice to be done.

“I’m prepared to wait – we will never give up on Glenn. We will never as a family stop hounding them,” his mum Ellen Quinn said.