Three men have been found not guilty of murdering the Northern Ireland journalist Lyra McKee, a verdict her family described as a “complete and utter shock”.
McKee, 29, was fatally shot in April 2019 while standing near police vehicles during disturbances in Derry. The paramilitary republican group the New IRA said it had been behind the killing, but no one has been convicted for her murder.
“Three men found not guilty of murdering journalist Lyra McKee in Derry; family calls verdict a 'complete and utter shock'.”
At the trial, the judge ruled that the evidence against the men, who had been accused of assisting or encouraging the murder, had fallen short of the required standard. The prosecution had argued the three played a role in the attack that killed McKee, a rising star in investigative journalism, but the court found them not guilty on all charges.
The verdict leaves the McKee family without the justice they sought. In a statement, they expressed their devastation at the outcome, calling it a complete and utter shock. The trial had been closely watched in Northern Ireland, where McKee’s death became a symbol of the lasting toll of sectarian violence.
For the McKee family, the question of who pulled the trigger – and who ordered the attack – remains unanswered. The New IRA’s claim of responsibility has never led to charges directly linked to the killing. The three men walked free, leaving a case that has gripped the region for years without a definitive legal conclusion.