A soldier accused of killing a teenager during the Troubles has died, the victim’s family has said.
Daniel Hegarty (15) was shot twice in the head after encountering a British army patrol in Derry’s Creggan area in the early hours of July 31st, 1972.
His family said they took no delight in the news that the man accused of murdering Daniel, known as Soldier B, had died. They said they would offer a Mass for the deceased, as their mother had done in 1972.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced in 2021 that it would not be prosecuting Soldier B. The decision was challenged by the family and it was quashed by the Court of Appeal in June.
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In a statement, the Hegarty family said they had been informed by the PPS that Soldier B died on Thursday. The family accused the service of dragging out the case and of never really wanting to prosecute Soldier B. The PPS has been approached for comment.
Northern Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Herron, said Daniel’s relatives were informed of Soldier B’s death “at the earliest opportunity”.
“Where the PPS is made aware of the death of a defendant, that is the end of any potential prosecution in relation to them,” he said. “I appreciate that this is an extremely difficult time for the family of Daniel Hegarty who have hoped and campaigned for many decades to see a criminal justice outcome in this case.”
Mr Herron said the decision-making by the PPS in relation to Daniel’s case was “undertaken in good faith”.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said there had been institutional failings in the Hegarty case and that it showed the UK government’s strategy for dealing with legacy issues would not work.
“Daniel Hegarty was shot and killed more than 50 years ago,” he said. “It is a damning indictment on this society that his family have had to fight a lifetime for truth, justice and accountability.”
The Foyle MP added: “And it is further evidence that the British government’s approach to legacy, shutting down justice, will never work for those who have lost the most ... Families like the Hegartys deserve the truth and they deserve justice. That should be the focus of political leaders across these islands.”