Sara Canning, the former partner of journalist Lyra McKee, expressed a desire for the killer to be haunted by their actions, following the verdicts in a trial that concluded nearly seven years after McKee's death. "Pathetic" was how Canning described the gunman responsible for the fatal shot, adding that she believes true justice will never be achieved.
Friday's verdicts brought to a close a trial that spanned almost two years. In total, nine men faced 52 charges, including rioting, all of which they denied. One defendant has since died.
None of the men charged with murder were accused of firing the shot that killed the 29-year-old journalist. The prosecution's case argued that the defendants accompanied a lone gunman to a firing point on the night of McKee's death and that they encouraged or assisted him.
Mrs. Justice Smyth, the judge presiding over the trial, stated at the end of Friday's hearing that the outcome would likely offer "little, if any, comfort or relief" to McKee's family and friends. She described the murder as an "act of senseless violence."
Mckee was shot dead in August 2019 while observing a dissident republican riot in Londonderry. She was a prominent journalist and writer who had been critically documenting the resurgence of violence in Northern Ireland. Her death prompted widespread condemnation and calls for peace.