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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Pair given life for Devlin murder | Pair given life for Devlin murder |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Two Belfast men have been jailed for life for the murder of teenager Thomas Devlin in August 2005. | Two Belfast men have been jailed for life for the murder of teenager Thomas Devlin in August 2005. |
| Nigel Brown, 26, of Whitewell Road and Gary Taylor, 23, from Mountcollyer Avenue had denied killing Thomas, 15, who was stabbed on the Somerton Road. | Nigel Brown, 26, of Whitewell Road and Gary Taylor, 23, from Mountcollyer Avenue had denied killing Thomas, 15, who was stabbed on the Somerton Road. |
| A judge at Belfast Crown Court said the murder had "completely shocked this entire community". | A judge at Belfast Crown Court said the murder had "completely shocked this entire community". |
| The jury of eight men and four women took one hour and 25 minutes to reach the verdict on Wednesday. | The jury of eight men and four women took one hour and 25 minutes to reach the verdict on Wednesday. |
| Brown had already pleaded guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Thomas' friend Jonathan McKee. | Brown had already pleaded guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Thomas' friend Jonathan McKee. |
| Mr Justice McLaughlin said the murder of the Catholic schoolboy, who had been on his way home from buying sweets, "was a murder which completely shocked this entire community, but especially the community of north Belfast". | |
| Principal | Principal |
| He added that Thomas and two friends with him "were attacked without any reason or provocation whatever". | He added that Thomas and two friends with him "were attacked without any reason or provocation whatever". |
| They were, he added, "three perfectly innocent young men", and that "one of them was killed, one was injured, and the two survivors, no doubt severely traumatised". | They were, he added, "three perfectly innocent young men", and that "one of them was killed, one was injured, and the two survivors, no doubt severely traumatised". |
| Then, turning to address Taylor directly, the judge declared: "It is plain that you Gary Taylor were the principal, you are the killer". | Then, turning to address Taylor directly, the judge declared: "It is plain that you Gary Taylor were the principal, you are the killer". |
| Thomas Devlin died after being stabbed in north Belfast | |
| He told Taylor he could "shake your head all you like, but this county with its democratic system and system for fair trials, has heard all of the evidence, considered all of the facts and has determined your guilt". | He told Taylor he could "shake your head all you like, but this county with its democratic system and system for fair trials, has heard all of the evidence, considered all of the facts and has determined your guilt". |
| At this stage Taylor shouted: "Suspicion does not prove guilt". | At this stage Taylor shouted: "Suspicion does not prove guilt". |
| However, ignoring the outburst, Mr Justice McLaughlin told him: "You thought you had got away with it, but you have been convicted and you will pay a heavy price for what you did on the Somerton Road. | However, ignoring the outburst, Mr Justice McLaughlin told him: "You thought you had got away with it, but you have been convicted and you will pay a heavy price for what you did on the Somerton Road. |
| "You will go to prison for life. And you will have a tariff fixed. It will be a very lengthy tariff you can be sure," warned the judge. | "You will go to prison for life. And you will have a tariff fixed. It will be a very lengthy tariff you can be sure," warned the judge. |
| Turning to Brown, the judge told him he had played a "secondary" role. | Turning to Brown, the judge told him he had played a "secondary" role. |
| Jailing him for life, he added that his "conviction demonstrates that those who engage in violence willingly must take full responsibility, not just for what they do themselves, but for the actions of others that they go about with and with whom they act in concert". | Jailing him for life, he added that his "conviction demonstrates that those who engage in violence willingly must take full responsibility, not just for what they do themselves, but for the actions of others that they go about with and with whom they act in concert". |
| Frenzy | Frenzy |
| The jury accepted the prosecution case that Brown and Taylor had acted as "a team" in the attack during which Thomas was fatally stabbed nine times. | The jury accepted the prosecution case that Brown and Taylor had acted as "a team" in the attack during which Thomas was fatally stabbed nine times. |
| It rejected defence arguments that the prosecution case against Brown was simply a "jigsaw puzzle cut up with scissors" while against Taylor it amounted to nothing more than a "fairytale - grim fairytales". | It rejected defence arguments that the prosecution case against Brown was simply a "jigsaw puzzle cut up with scissors" while against Taylor it amounted to nothing more than a "fairytale - grim fairytales". |
| During their five week trial, the court heard that Brown confessed to his stepfather that he'd been involved in an argument with the three teenage friends and saw Taylor stab the schoolboy "in a frenzy". | During their five week trial, the court heard that Brown confessed to his stepfather that he'd been involved in an argument with the three teenage friends and saw Taylor stab the schoolboy "in a frenzy". |
| But Brown also claimed that when they both left their then homes in Ross House in the loyalist Mount Vernon flats complex to walk a dog, he had no idea that Taylor had armed himself with a knife. | But Brown also claimed that when they both left their then homes in Ross House in the loyalist Mount Vernon flats complex to walk a dog, he had no idea that Taylor had armed himself with a knife. |
| However a prosecution lawyer maintained that their intentions that night were "crystal clear", to find "soft targets" after going out together "tooled up". | However a prosecution lawyer maintained that their intentions that night were "crystal clear", to find "soft targets" after going out together "tooled up". |
| The lawyer had also claimed that Brown's admission to being at the scene was little more than "a damage limitation exercise", whilst Taylor's supposed alibi of being elsewhere smoking cannabis with friends had "melted away like the snow." | The lawyer had also claimed that Brown's admission to being at the scene was little more than "a damage limitation exercise", whilst Taylor's supposed alibi of being elsewhere smoking cannabis with friends had "melted away like the snow." |
| Evil |