miami showband crime scene photos

[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. [84], The families held a press conference in Dublin after the report was released. Millionen hochwertiger Bilder, Videos und Musiktracks warten auf Sie. The incident had an adverse effect on the Irish showband scene, with many of the bands afraid to play in Northern Ireland. Jackson had assumed command of the Mid-Ulster UVF just a few days before the Miami Showband attack, after allegedly shooting Hanna dead outside his home in Lurgan on 27 July 1975. About 10 gunmen were at the checkpoint, according to author and journalist Martin Dillon. Aaron Carter 's mother believes he was the victim of a crime, not an overdose -- so, she's made the tough decision to let the . Travers had described the English-accented man as having been of normal height and thought he had fair hair, but was not certain. [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. RM G4PYFC - Miami Showband massacre RM EC8F8C - London, UK. [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. [72][73] Surviving band members Stephen Travers and Des McAlea told police and later testified in court that a British Army officer with a "crisp, clipped English accent" oversaw the attack, the implication being that this was Nairac. Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. The six-strong group were one of the biggest acts on the Irish music scene throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Journalist Emily O'Reilly noted in the Sunday Tribune that none of the three men convicted of the massacre ever implicated Nairac in the attack or accused him of causing Boyle's death. The Miami Showband massacre in 1975, had a devastating effect on the showband and live music scene. [62] The attack was blamed on loyalists; Lost Lives an account of every death in the conflict states that reliable loyalist sources have confirmed the UVF was responsible. It was found 100 yards (91m) from the site with a "UVF Portadown" tattoo on it. He was charged with the Miami Showband murders and the attempted murder of bass player Stephen Travers, as well as the murder of Patrick Falls in 1974. The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour". [47] The UVF gunmen had worn green UDR berets, whereas the other man's had been lighter in colour. Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were given UVF paramilitary funerals conducted by Free Presbyterian minister William McCrea, a Democratic Unionist Party politician. [43], Ballistic evidence indicates that the 10-member gang took at least six guns with them on the attack. Tests done on the glasses, which were eventually traced back to McDowell, revealed that the lenses were of a prescription worn by just 1 in 500,000 of the population. The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband massacre)[1] was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. [55] Robin Jackson died of cancer on 30 May 1998, aged 49. 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. [62] One report says it was stopped at a fake British Army checkpoint. It has been suggested that the bomb was meant to explode en route, so that the victim band members would appear to be Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb-smugglers and stricter security measures would be established at the border. [18] A typical Irish showband was based on the popular six- or seven-member dance band. 8 in the Irish charts. Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. Touts aren't welcome here.". 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. But as the death toll mounted, so did Somerville's drinking. "[54] In May 1976, Robin Jackson's fingerprints were discovered on the metal barrel of a home-made silencer constructed for a Luger. But along with his friend Jackson, he helped build the UVF in mid-Ulster. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". Verzamel, beheer en geef commentaar bij uw bestanden. 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. It comprised elements of the British security forces who, together with the UVF, carried out sectarian killings in the Mid-Ulster/County Armagh area. There was very little planning. His leadership was endorsed by the UVF's leader Gusty Spence. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. 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. And after stopping GAA fans 22-year-old Colm McCartney and 32-year-old John Farmer, they shot them dead. He . O'Toole was noted for his good looks and popularity with female fans,[20] and was described by the Miami Showband's former bass guitarist, Paul Ashford, as having been the "greatest soul singer" in Ireland. When they agreed he placed it on the ground, opened its case and then went back into line; however this time he stood first in the line-up closest to the minibus when previously he had been third. He also survived by remaining silent, pretending he was dead. [29] Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. [35], On 22 January 1976, a second UDR soldier, Sergeant James Roderick Shane McDowell (aged 29, an optical worker, also from Lurgan) was arrested and charged with the Miami killings. Director Stuart Sender Writers Jeff Zimbalist Michael Zimbalist Stars Stephen Travers Bertie Ahern The scene of The Miami Showband Massacre [2], The UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade operated mainly around the Portadown and Lurgan areas. At the precise moment of the explosion, the patrol came under intense automatic fire from the occupants of the other vehicle. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. The Miami Showband minibus with five members in all was stopped at a bogus army checkpoint in Northern Ireland and three were killed and two, including Travers, badly injured in July 1975. But by this time, he was ready to go to jail. He was also one of the prime suspects in the sectarian killing of Dorothy Traynor on 1 April 1975 in Portadown. 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. Assuming it was a legitimate checkpoint, McCoy informed the others inside the minibus of a military checkpoint up ahead and pulled in at the lay-by as directed by the armed men. [19] In early 1973, Billy MacDonald (a.k.a. [4][18][28][29] As Crozier took down the information, a car pulled up and another uniformed man appeared on the scene. [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". The attack was carried out by. [4], In May 1974, unionists called a general strike to protest against the Sunningdale Agreement an attempt at power-sharing, setting up a Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland, which would have given the Government of Ireland a voice in running Northern Ireland. The gunman turned him round, punched him hard in the back and pushed him on the shoulder back into the line-up. Died from several gunshot wounds. [46][49] In 1993, Boyle was named by The Hidden Hand programme as one of the Dublin car bombers. 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]. A child of Northern Ireland's Troubles recalls that fateful night when The Miami Showband was ambushed by the Ulster Volunteer Force on this day in 1975. 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. [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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Pat Finucane Centre. 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. It was my own personal feelings and convictions at the time these things happened. it is to say the least highly dubious, if not absurd to conclude from such superficial factors that Nairac was present at the Miami murders. It was a forgiveness that few of the relatives of his victims were willing to give. [86] Weir alleged the bomb used in the Miami Showband attack came from Mitchell's farm. They were: lead vocalist and keyboard player Fran O'Toole, 28, Catholic; guitarist Anthony (Tony) Geraghty, 24, Catholic, from Dublin; trumpeter Brian McCoy, 32, Protestant, from Caledon, County Tyrone; saxophonist Des McAlea (a.k.a. [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. No one forced me. Travers was not able to positively identify Nairac, from his photograph, as having been the man at Buskhill. After receiving radio confirmation that there were no authorised checkpoints in the area that night, they reported the incident and requested help from the British Army to investigate it, but no action was taken. 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. When McCoy refused, Jackson then hatched his plan to murder McCoy and his bandmates in retaliation for what he viewed as having betrayed the loyalist cause, even macabrely choosing Buskhill as the ambush site due to its similarity to Bus-kill. [3] The UVF would be once more banned by the British government on 3 October 1975. The scene of the Miami Showband killings in County Down, Northern Ireland, on 31 July 1975. [50], The stolen Ford Escort belonged to a man from Portadown, who according to Captain Fred Holroyd, had links with one of the UVF bombers and David Alexander Mulholland the driver of the bomb car which had been left to explode in Parnell Street, Dublin, on 17 May 1974. [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. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. [42], When the RUC arrived at the site they found five dead bodies, a seriously injured Stephen Travers, body parts, the smoldering remains of the destroyed minibus, debris from the bomb blast, bullets, spent cartridges and the band members' personal possessions, including clothing, shoes and a photograph of the group, strewn across the area. Video: Netflix. Aged 70, he died of cancer of the kidney. The Miami Showband reformed in 2008, with Stephen Travers, Des McAlea, and Ray Millar, plus new members. He also took part in fatal bomb attacks at Kay's Tavern in Dundalk and Donnelly's Bar at Silverbridge, south Armagh. 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. [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. The Miami Showband toured throughout 1970s Ireland before the attack The musicians were ordered to line up at the roadside outside Newry while the gang loaded a bomb on to their bus. In January 2015, he was found dead in his Shankill Road flat. . It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. Jackson was convinced Hanna was a Special Branch informer and he feared he may spill details of the imminent Miami attack to his RUC handler. [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". Miami 1975 - The Massacre In early 1975, bassist Steve Travers replaced Dave Monks. He then drove to a lay-by on the Newry-Banbridge dual carriageway and met up with another five men, who were all wearing British Army uniforms. [8] The brigade was described by author Don Mullan as one of the most ruthless units operating in the 1970s. He lay hidden in thick undergrowth, face down, undetected by the gunmen. Robin Jackson died of cancer in May 1998 aged 49. [5] Their fears were slightly grounded in fact, as the MI6 officer Michael Oatley was involved in negotiations with a member of the IRA Army Council, during which "structures of disengagement" from Ireland were discussed. 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. 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. Tony Geraghty also attempted to escape; but he was caught by the gunmen and shot twice in the back of his head and a number of times in the back. Among the large crowd he spotted Billy McCaughey, a former police sergeant and convicted killer who had named his UVF accomplices to investigating detectives. Sometimes the showbands played traditional Irish music at their performances. [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. 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. Jackson informed Frazer that John Somerville was due for release. Ashford had been asked to leave the band in 1973, for complaining that performing in Northern Ireland put their lives at risk. [37][38] This might have resulted in the Irish authorities enforcing tighter controls over the border, thus restricting IRA operations. [53] In a letter to the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern dated 22 February 2004, the Northern Ireland Office stated that: "The PSNI have confirmed that a 9mm Luger pistol was ballistically traced both to the murder of John Francis Green and to the Miami Showband murders. When three young musicians lost their lives on 31 July 1975, the heart was torn out of Ireland's showband community. 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. 10th December, 2014. The latest from Netflix's ReMastered series focusses on the Miami Showband massacre, which took place at Banbridge, Co. Down on July 31, 1975. Our source also claimed John Somerville told him that in an attempt to break him, a police officer entered the interrogation room carrying a severed human arm in a plastic bag. The two men were found shot dead nearby. But he quit when the Troubles erupted on the streets of Belfast and Derry in the autumn of 1969. [31] Travers described McCoy as a "sophisticated, father-type figure. Krijg toegang tot het beste van Getty Images met ons eenvoudige abonnement. It had been travelling from Banbridge to Bleary with nine people on board; all were Catholics and most had been returning from a regular bingo session. Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. Pinnwnde sind ideal zum Speichern von Bildern und Videoclips. The mother of the late singer-rapper Aaron Carter released photos of the scene of his death Wednesday, calling for a "real . 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. [44], McDowell's statement of admission was published in David McKittrick's book Lost Lives:[44]. View On One Page Photo 22 of 51 ADVERTISEMENT () Start Slideshow . Agent Elvis. But it went nowhere when a senior RUC officer advised the UVF leader to lie low for a while. I was given a sub-machine gun but I had never fired it. He was then machine-gunned 22 times, mostly in the face, as he lay supine on the ground. She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead. It also devastated the burgeoning live music scene in Northern Ireland.. Site of the massacre; a commemorative plaque shows where the band's minibus was parked in the lay-by. Former serving Secret Intelligence Service agent Captain Fred Holroyd, and others, suggested that Nairac had organised the attack in co-operation with Robin Jackson and the Mid-Ulster UVF. 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. [76] Retired diplomat Alistair Kerr wrote a biography of Nairac entitled "Betrayal: the Murder of Robert Nairac" published in 2015, which offers documentary evidence that clears Nairac of having been at Buskhill overseeing the attack. 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. At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), and all were members of the UVF.