miami showband crime scene photos

The attack was carried out by loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and took place while the group, a popular cabaret band, were travelling home to Dublin after a performance. They had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart . The IRA said it killed him because of an alleged association with British Army officer and member of 14th Intelligence Company, Captain Robert Nairac, and claimed it was in possession of his diary, which had been stolen in Portadown.[61]. There are also allegations that British military intelligence agents were involved. "Billy Mac") took over as the group's frontman when the Simon brothers quit the band. [31] Travers described McCoy as a "sophisticated, father-type figure. A musician who survived the Miami showband massacre has, 40 years on, made an appeal to trace a young couple who helped him at the time. Twenty minutes before - in what was clearly a co-ordinated operation - another loyalist killer gang made up of police officers and UDR soldiers launched a murder attack on the Reavey family home in Whitecross. [85], The Pat Finucane Centre has named the Miami Showband killings as one of the 87 violent attacks perpetrated by the Glenanne gang against the Irish nationalist community in the 1970s. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. View On One Page Photo 22 of 51 ADVERTISEMENT () Start Slideshow . Among the large crowd he spotted Billy McCaughey, a former police sergeant and convicted killer who had named his UVF accomplices to investigating detectives. Lightly built and standing less than 5ft 7in, he wasn't a stereotypical loyalist killer. Their name comes from a farm in Glenanne, County Armagh, which was owned by RUC reservist James Mitchell; according to ex-RUC Special Patrol Group officer John Weir, it was used as a UVF arms dump and bomb-making site. [101], A Netflix documentary titled ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre was released 22 March 2019, highlighting the efforts of Steve Travers to track down who authorized the attack, for what purposes, and to get an admission of culpability.[102][103]. He believed it was based on the erroneous linkage of Nairac to the earlier murder of IRA man John Francis Green in County Monaghan the same pistol was used in both attacks. Krijg toegang tot het beste van Getty Images met ons eenvoudige abonnement. More than 100 killings have been attributed to him by the Pat Finucane Centre, the Derry-based civil rights group.[15][17]. [44], McDowell's statement of admission was published in David McKittrick's book Lost Lives:[44]. Five members of the Dublin-based band were travelling home after a performance at the Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, County Down, on Thursday 31 July 1975. [79] and that none of the perpetrators ever offered him an apology. The 55-cent stamp, designed with a 1967 publicity photograph of the band, included two of the slain members, Fran O'Toole and Brian McCoy, as part of the line-up when Dickie Rock was the frontman. [18][22] Meanwhile, two other gunmen at the front of the minibus were placing the briefcase containing the bomb under the driver's seat. [96], In a report on Nairac's alleged involvement in the massacre, published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper on 16 May 1999, Colin Wills called the ambush "one of the worst atrocities in the 30-year history of the Troubles". Aaron Carter's mom releases shocking pictures of his 'death scene' bathroom in desperate bid to get cops to probe his death as a crime despite coroner saying it was an accidental drugs overdose He was one of the men taken in by the RUC in August 1975 and questioned as a suspect in the killings, but was released without charge. [20] He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. I was given a sub-machine gun but I had never fired it. According to loyalists who knew him, Somerville turned down countless RUC Special Branch offers to work as a police agent. "[54] In May 1976, Robin Jackson's fingerprints were discovered on the metal barrel of a home-made silencer constructed for a Luger. UVF serial killer John Somerville told how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become Special Branch tout and avoid jail, No remorse: Miami Showband killer John Somerville. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. His cell was kept immaculately clean and visitors were required to remove their shoes before entering. In a rare interview with the BBC Spotlight programme before his death of kidney cancer in 2015, Somerville spoke only once and very briefly about the Miami Showband Massacre. Although not a member of any loyalist paramilitary group,[26] he was a close friend of Harris Boyle and the two were often seen together. [22], According to Peter Taylor, the Provisional IRA's gun and bomb attack on the loyalist Bayardo Bar in Belfast's Shankill Road on 13 August was in retaliation for the Miami Showband ambush. Her brothers Seamus and Michael also died in the attack, which was later claimed by the Protestant Action Force, a cover name for the Mid-Ulster UVF. However, later forensics established that Boyle and Somerville were putting the bomb under the driver's seat and as it tilted on its side it detonated. They Cloned Tyrone. [3] The UVF would be once more banned by the British government on 3 October 1975. [34] Afterward, as Travers recovered in hospital, the other survivor Des McAlea gave the police a description of McDowell as the gunman with a moustache and wearing dark glasses who appeared to have been the leader of the patrol. [30] The UVF's plan was that the bomb would explode once the minibus had reached Newry, killing all on board. Maguire recalled that the car first slowed down, then it accelerated, flashing its lights. Two of the gunmen, both soldiers, died when a time bomb they were hiding on the minibus exploded prematurely. The conflict in Northern Ireland, known as "the Troubles", began in the late 1960s. It is obvious, therefore, that the UVF patrol was justified in taking the action it did and that the killing of the three Showband members should be regarded as justifiable homicide. About 10 gunmen were at the checkpoint, according to author and journalist Martin Dillon. Two of the gunmen were attempting to plant a time bomb on the vehicle, when it prematurely exploded and killed them. Somerville was sent to jail for 35 years and, despite being firmly opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, he was released under its terms after spending just 18 years behind bars. Please check your inbox to verify your details, Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. [69], A third person, former UDR soldier John James Somerville (aged 37, a lorry-helper and the brother of Wesley), was arrested following an RUC raid in Dungannon on 26 September 1980. [79], Another persistent allegation is the direct involvement of Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson, a native of Donaghmore, County Down, 1.5 miles (2.4km) away from Buskhill. He also provides other alibis for Nairac precluding his presence at the scenes of both the John Francis Green killing and the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. "IRA 'responsible' for killings blamed on loyalists", "Decision as to the admissibility of Application no. Halfway to Newry, their minibus was stopped at what appeared to be a military checkpoint where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered them to line up by the roadside. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. It had been set up in Lurgan in 1972 by part-time Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) sergeant and permanent staff instructor Billy Hanna, who made himself commander of the brigade. [19] 3/2/2023 1:00 AM PT. [30][39], When the device was tilted on its side,[30] clumsy soldering on the clock used as a timer caused the bomb to explode prematurely, blowing the minibus apart and killing UVF men Harris Boyle (aged 22, a telephone wireman from Portadown) and Wesley Somerville (aged 34, a textile worker from Moygashel) instantly. He described the scene as having "just the smell of utterly death about the place burning blood, burning tyres". [78], The band's road manager, Brian Maguire stated that when he drove away from Banbridge in the lead, a few minutes ahead of the band's minibus, he passed through security barriers manned by the RUC. I got them with dum-dums". [22][44], One of the first RUC men who arrived at Buskhill in the wake of the killings was scenes of crime officer James O'Neill. [22] He presently resides near Craigavon. [5], UK Home Secretary Roy Jenkins introduced the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which gave the government unprecedented powers against the liberty of individuals in the United Kingdom in peacetime. Its basic repertoire included cover versions of pop songs that were currently in the charts, and standard dance numbers. [80] The same panel revealed that about six weeks before the attack, Thomas Crozier, Jackson and the latter's brother-in-law Samuel Fulton Neill, were arrested for the possession of four shotguns. Chris Hudson, a former intermediary between the government of Ireland and the UVF, whose role was crucial to the Northern Ireland peace process. It was . [77] However, Ministry of Defence documents released in 2020 contain suggestions that Nairac acquired equipment and uniforms for the Miami Showband killers, and that he was responsible for the planning and execution of the attack itself. [55] Although ballistic testing had linked the Luger (for which the silencer had been specifically made) to the Miami Showband attack, Jackson was never questioned about the killings after his fingerprints had been discovered on the silencer, and the Miami inquiry team were never informed about these developments. He was given a total of four life sentences (three for the murders of the Miami Showband members and one for the Falls murder) on 9 November 1981; he had pleaded not guilty. A report by the police's Historical Enquiries Team (HET) also suggests this. On 15 October 1976, Crozier and McDowell both received life sentences for the Miami Showband murders. Driven by a personal tragedy, a pianist-turned-lawyer navigates the complex world of divorce fighting for his clients to win by any means necessary. [48] Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were UDR soldiers as well as holding the rank of major and lieutenant, respectively, in the UVF. [46] Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at Dublin Castle. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. The Miami Showband (1962-1996 and 2008-present) Photo Gallery - Band Lineups - Discography - Audio samples - Where Are They Now? John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. Griffin goes on to add that the bogus checkpoint was set up not only to plant the bomb on board the van but to ensure the presence of McCoy which would have been confirmed when he handed over his driving licence to the gunmen. [21][84], Former British soldier and writer Ken Wharton published in his book Wasted Years, Wasted Lives, Volume 1, an alternative theory that was suggested to him by loyalist paramilitarism researcher Jeanne Griffin; this was that the ambush was planned by Robin Jackson as an elaborate means of eliminating trumpet player Brian McCoy. At 2.30am, their Volkswagen minibus was stopped at a bogus military checkpoint, where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered the band members to line up by the roadside. Free shipping for many products! 2023 Getty Images. [69] Stephen Travers decried: "We believe the only conclusion possible arising from the HET report is that one of the most prolific loyalist murderers of the conflict was an RUC Special Branch agent and was involved in the Miami Showband attack". Survivors and relatives of those murdered in the Miami Showband massacre are to receive nearly 1.5m (1.75m) in total damages to settle claims over . The band is remembered in the song "The Miami" by English folk singer-songwriter Jez Lowe on his album Jack Commons Anthem. On October 23, 1975, Somerville and Jackson led a UVF team in the savage murders of Peter McKearney (63) and his wife Jane (58) at their home near the Moy. He lay hidden in thick undergrowth, face down, undetected by the gunmen. [13] Dillon suggested that because there were a number of UDR members in the UVF, and were planned to be used for the Miami Showband ambush, Hanna was considered to have been a "security risk", and the UVF decided he had to be killed before he could alert the authorities. [6], In early 1975, Merlyn Rees set up elections for the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention at which all of Northern Ireland's politicians would plan their way forward. [19][25][26] During "The Troubles" it was normal for the British Army to set up checkpoints at any time. The following year, Fran O'Toole became the band's lead vocalist after Mick Roche (Billy Mac's replacement) was sacked. 1,453 Vintage Crime Scene Photos Premium High Res Photos Browse 1,453 vintage crime scene photos stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. [99], The findings noted in the report confirmed Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson's involvement and identified him as an RUC Special Branch agent. The music ranged from rock and country and western to Dixieland jazz. [clarification needed] James McDowell lives in Lurgan, and John James Somerville became an evangelical minister in Belfast. Organiseer, beheer, distribueer en meet al uw digitale content. [2], The UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade operated mainly around the Portadown and Lurgan areas. Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were then one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands. [23], According to the Irish Times, at the height of Irish showbands' popularity (from the 1950s to the 1970s), up to as many as 700 bands travelled to venues all over Ireland on a nightly basis.[24]. [29] Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. [18] More uniformed men appeared from out of the darkness, their guns pointed at the minibus. As they were being questioned, Major Boyle and Lieutenant Somerville began to search the minibus. One of these men, Lance-Corporal Thomas Raymond Crozier (aged 25, a painting contractor from Lurgan) of C Company, 11th Battalion UDR was charged with the Miami killings. "Robin Jackson and John Somerville had been very close friends since joining the Mid-Ulster UVF. A UVF patrol led by Major Boyle was suspicious of two vehicles, a minibus and a car parked near the border. He also took part in fatal bomb attacks at Kay's Tavern in Dundalk and Donnelly's Bar at Silverbridge, south Armagh. Irish Times diarist Frank McNally summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. But he quit when the Troubles erupted on the streets of Belfast and Derry in the autumn of 1969. In a police statement made following his arrest for possession of the silencer and Luger on 31 May 1976, Jackson maintained that a week before he was taken into custody, two RUC officers had tipped him off about the discovery of his fingerprints on the silencer; he also claimed they had forewarned him: "I should clear as there was a wee job up the country that I would be done for and there was no way out of it for me". [44] The independent panel of inquiry commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre concluded that there was "credible evidence that the principal perpetrator [of the Miami Showband attack] was a man who was not prosecuted alleged RUC Special Branch agent Robin Jackson". Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. He added that had the death penalty not been abolished, it would have been imposed in this case. The mother of the late singer-rapper Aaron Carter released photos of the scene of his death Wednesday, calling for a "real . Millionen hochwertiger Bilder, Videos und Musiktracks warten auf Sie. Just after the arrival of this mysterious soldier, McCoy nudged Travers, who was standing beside him, and reassured him by saying "Don't worry Stephen, this is British Army". [84], The families held a press conference in Dublin after the report was released. In this adult animated comedy, Elvis trades his jumpsuit for a jetpack when he joins a secret spy program to stop villains from destroying the world. [89] Hudson, a Unitarian minister, had been a close friend of Fran O'Toole. The UVF maintains regular border patrols due to the continued activity of the Provisional IRA. "Kevin Myers: The Miami Showband massacre was one of the most depraved massacres of the Troubles". [34][81][82] The panel stated that it was unclear why Crozier, Jackson and Neill were not in police custody at the time the Miami Showband killings took place. [36], Des McAlea and Stephen Travers heard two of the gunmen rummaging in the back of the minibus, where they both kept their respective instruments. She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead. The patrol sergeant immediately ordered the patrol to shoot back. The patrol later recovered two Armalite rifles and a pistol. Fortnight Magazine reported that on 1 June 1982, John James Somerville began a hunger strike at the Maze to obtain special category status. Two days before, Jackson and Somerville had carried out a bomb and gun attack at McGleenan's pub in Armagh, killing its owner Jack McGleenan and customers Patrick Hughes and Thomas Morris. Stroomlijn uw workflow met ons toonaangevende beheersysteem voor digitale bestanden. Director Stuart Sender Writers Jeff Zimbalist Michael Zimbalist Stars Stephen Travers Bertie Ahern He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command. This meant that both it and the UDA were legal organisations. Miami 1975 - The Massacre In early 1975, bassist Steve Travers replaced Dave Monks. The Historical Enquiries Team (HET), which was set up to investigate the more controversial Troubles-related deaths, released its report on the Miami Showband killings to the victims' families in December 2011. OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney, who's accused of killing her boyfriend, Obumseli, remains behind bars on second-degree murder charges. [44] None of the men ever named their accomplices, and the other UVF gunmen were never caught. Originally called the Downbeats Quartet, the Miami Showband was reformed in 1962 by rock promoter Tom Doherty, who gave them their new name. Gaelic footballer brothers John Martin Reavey (24) and Brian (22) died at the scene, while 17-year-old Anthony died three weeks later. Somerville said: "I'm not going to make excuses for my past. [18][27] The unsuspecting band members got out and were politely told to line up facing the ditch at the rear of the minibus with their hands on their heads. But two other UVF men, Thomas Crozier and James McDowell - both soldiers in the UDR - were jailed for life. No one coerced me. The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband Massacre) was an attack by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, on 31 July 1975. [25] As McCoy rolled down the window and produced his driving licence, gunmen came up to the minibus and one of them said in a Northern Irish accent, "Goodnight, fellas. In a report published in the Sunday Mirror in 1999, Colin Wills called the Miami Showband attack "one of the worst atrocities in the 30-year history of the Troubles". Travers later recalled hearing one of the departing gunmen tell his comrade who had kicked McCoy's body to make sure he was not alive: "Come on, those bastards are dead. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images The UVF man, who identified himself only as "the Craftsman", apologised to Travers for the attack, and explained that the UVF gunmen shot the band because they "had panicked" that night. ", And he insisted: "The Lord has forgiven me.". And nearer home, they carried out five operations in one day in the Moy and Stewartstown. The explosion ripped through the building, killing 21-year-old married woman Marion Bowen, who was eight months pregnant at the time. Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. [6] The existence of these talks led unionists to believe that they were about to be abandoned by the British government and forced into a united Ireland; as a result, the loyalist paramilitary groups reacted with a violence that, combined with the tit-for-tat retaliations from the IRA (despite their ceasefire), made 1975 one of the "bloodiest years of the conflict". Date: 12th November 1941 Means: Assassinated. The emergence of discos later in the decade meant that ballrooms were converted into nightclubs, leaving the showbands with few venues available in which to perform. He subsequently stated they refused to accept his description of the different-coloured beret worn by the soldier with the English accent. It was his brother Wesley's arm," said the source. Pat Finucane Centre. 50 True-Crime Documentaries on Netflix | 2023 . But the Sunday World has also learned that on January 4 1976, Jackson was accompanied by John Somerville when he burst into the home of the O'Dowd family at Ballyduggan, near Gilford, shooting three of them dead. By 1975, they had gained a large following, playing to crowds of people in dance halls and ballrooms across the island. Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention, Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, "Sunningdale pushed hardliners into fatal outrages in 1974", "Events: Dublin and Monaghan Bombs Chronology of Events", "Collusion in the South Armagh / Mid Ulster Area in the mid-1970s", "All About the Miami Showband (19611996)", "The Miami Band Lined Up Against the Van. Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen. [68] McDowell had pleaded guilty. Then They Were Coldly Murdered", "An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 1975", "Sub-Committee on the Barron Report 26September 2006 Public Hearings on the Barron Report". (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection) (Photo by Independent News and Media/Getty Images), 3928x2594px (33,26 x 21,96 cm) - 300 dpi - 5 MB. Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. From left: Steve Travers, Tony Geraghty, Ray Millar, Brian McCoy, Fran O'Toole, Des Lee. The government held the view that the British Government had not done enough to stop sectarian assassinations in Northern Ireland. A". 14 December 2011. This had meant the possible withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland. The Mid-Ulster Battalion has been assisting the South Down-South Armagh units since the IRA Forkhill boobytrap which killed four British soldiers. Abe Reles, 1941 Place: Half Moon Hotel, Coney Island Date: 25th October 1957 Means: Pushed out of the window Angelo Bruno, 1980 Place: Intersection of 10th Street and Snyder Avenue, South Philadelphia Date: 21st March 1980 Means: Shotgun blast to the back of the head [21] He was replaced by Johnny Brown, who in turn was replaced by Dave Monks until Stephen Travers eventually became the band's permanent bass player. [12] Journalist Joe Tiernan suggested that Hanna was shot for refusing to participate in the Miami Showband attack and that he had become an informer for the Garda in exchange for immunity from prosecution for the Dublin bombings. Travers was not able to positively identify Nairac, from his photograph, as having been the man at Buskhill. Griffin based her theory on the nine bullets that were fired from a Luger into McCoy's body and that Jackson's fingerprints were found on the silencer used for a Luger. The scene of the Miami Showband killings in County Down, Northern Ireland, on 31 July 1975. The scene of the Miami Showband massacre Somerville would never. By this time the gunmen had left the scene, assuming everyone else had been killed. By the mid-1980s, the showbands had lost their appeal for the Irish public; although The Miami Showband, albeit with a series of different line-ups, did not disband until 1986. They also discovered a stolen white Ford Escort registration number 4933 LZ,[43] which had been left behind by the gunmen, along with two guns, ammunition, green UDR berets and a pair of glasses later traced to James McDowell, the gunman who had allegedly ordered the shootings. [35] Regarding the soldier with the English accent, Dillon wrote:[75]. [43], Ballistic evidence indicates that the 10-member gang took at least six guns with them on the attack. ;UVF killer Harris Boyle who died in the attack. [4] He spoke with an educated English accent and immediately took charge, ordering a man who appeared to have been the leader of the patrol to tell Crozier to obtain their names and dates of birth instead of addresses. He was unimpressed by the UVF men he met in the loyalist stronghold.

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