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Two men cleared of Nicola Payne murder Two men cleared of Nicola Payne murder
(about 1 hour later)
A former warehouse worker and his brother-in-law have been cleared of murdering a young mother who disappeared in 1991. Police have said the case of a teenage mother who vanished as she made her way across waste ground shortly before Christmas almost 25 years ago remains open after two men were cleared of her murder.
Jurors at Birmingham crown court deliberated for around eight hours over three days before finding Thomas O’Reilly and Nigel Barwell not guilty of killing Nicola Payne in Coventry. Nigel Barwell and his brother-in-law, Thomas O’Reilly, both now 51, were found not guilty of abducting and murdering Nicola Payne, 18, in 1991 in Coventry, West Midlands.
Barwell, 51, punched the air and mouthed “Thank you very much” towards the jury; O’Reilly, also 51, stood silently in the dock after he was acquitted. The prosecution had alleged that new forensic techniques meant hair found in a tent belonging to Barwell could be linked to Nicola, who had a seven-month old son. But following deliberation over three days at Birmingham crown court, a jury found the pair not guilty of murder.
The prosecution had alleged that the two men abducted and killed Nicola, aged 18, as she walked to her parents’ home across waste ground on December 14 1991. Barwell punched the air and mouthed: “Thank you very much,” towards the jury, while O’Reilly stood silently in the dock.
Both defendants were charged in January this year after DNA testing linked a tent recovered by police in 1991 to the victim, whose body has never been found. The verdicts mean the agony of not knowing what happened to the teenager, whose body has never been found, goes on for her parents, John and Marilyn Payne, 70, and Nicola’s son, Owen. They had hoped the new investigation would finally mean Nicola’s remains would be found.
Barwell, of Coventry, told the five-week trial that he and O’Reilly were drinking in Rugby on the day of her disappearance. John Payne wept for five minutes in the public gallery after the verdicts were returned. Outside court, Det Supt Mark Payne, from West Midlands police, said: “This was always going to be a difficult and complex inquiry due to the length of time of the investigation.
In his evidence to the jury, Barwell described the case against him as “absolutely absurd” and denied deliberately delaying his attendance at identification parades held in 1991 and 1992. “The case was revisited and diligently and meticulously investigated by a team of experienced officers, before the decision was made to arrest two people. Extensive evidence was presented to the Crown Prosecution Service, which they agreed was significant enough to lead to two people being charged and brought before the courts.
His co-defendant, also from Coventry, broke down in the witness box after telling jurors that a well-built police officer had threatened to “do” him during questioning in early 1992. “Our criminal justice system quite rightly demands a high standard of proof and we acknowledge today’s verdict from the jury. This case will always remain open and we will investigate any new evidence which comes to light. Our thoughts remain with Nicola’s family.”
O’Reilly further claimed that he was bundled into a van, blindfolded and questioned about the disappearance by a group of men later the same year. The jury had heard how Nicola left her partner, Jason Cooke, and baby son Owen to walk to her parents’ house at lunchtime on 14 December 1991. Andrew Smith QC, prosecuting, said the route across a piece of waste ground known as the Black Pad should have taken only a few minutes.
After the acquittals, trial judge Mr Justice Openshaw told the jury of eight men and four women: “You are now discharged with my thanks and the thanks of the community for the part you have played in the administration of justice.”