Two men found guilty of Malcolm McKeown murder

Two men have been found guilty of the murder of Malcolm McKeown in 2019.

Mr McKeown, 54, was shot as he sat in a BMW parked at the back of a service station in Waringstown, County Down, in August of that year.

Jake O'Brien, 30, from Rectory Road in Lurgan, County Armagh, and Andrew Thomas Kenneth Martin of Bridge Street in Banbridge, County Down, were both found guilty at Belfast Crown Court on Friday.

Two other men - Stevie Lee Watson, 36, from Princeton Avenue in Lurgan and 36-year-old Simon Smyth from Hazelgrove Avenue in Lurgan - were both acquitted of murder and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Martin admitted to "aiding and abetting" Mr McKeown's murder last year.

However, while the 29-year-old was given an automatic life sentence, his plea was not accepted by the Crown.

During the non-jury Diplock trial, the assistant state pathologist said the victim died from bullet wounds to his head and body and was hit by at least six bullets.

The pathologist said it was "quite possible" the muzzle of the weapon had been pressed against the victim's skin.

It was also heard that Mr McKeown was involved in a feud with a criminal organisation known as 'The Firm'.

Two young boys out riding their bikes found Mr McKeown's body.

In his ruling, judge Mr Justice Fowler described the murder of Mr McKeown as a "carefully planned and brutal assassination''.

He told Martin that there were "strong strands of circumstantial evidence'' linking him to the murder.

The judge said he was sure Martin was one of the gunmen who had shot Mr McKeown.

"I have already sentenced him to life imprisonment and I will set his tariff on 12 September,'' he said.

Turning to O'Brien, Mr Justice Fowler said: "I am sure that he was involved in this brutal assassination of Mr McKeown.

"There are sufficiently strong chords of a substantial nature in this circumstantial case.

"Accordingly, I find him guilty of the deceased's murder as a principal and I am also sure he is guilty of the firearms offence."

He sentenced O'Brien to life imprisonment.

Both defendants will find out on 12 September how long they will spend in prison before they are eligible to apply to be freed on licence.

The judge told Mr Watson that he had considered the circumstantial nature of the evidence against him and "that a considerable amount of that is speculative and conjecture".

"Where there may be suspicion, I cannot be certain to make me sure that you are guilty of the deceased's murder and accordingly I find you not guilty of both counts," he said.

He told Mr Smith that he could not be sure of "your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as a secondary party to Mr McKeown's murder'' and he formally acquitted him on both counts he faced.

Mr McKeown was last seen alive at 19:19 BST on 19 August 2019 when he walked out of a garage on Waringstown's Main Street and got into his BMW car which was parked at the rear of the station.

He was shot at least six times as he sat in the car, which he had bought the weekend before.

He had been released from prison 12 days earlier.

A senior prosecutor told the trial: "Mr McKeown would have been, considering his background, wary of being attacked by other criminals.

"He had been shot and seriously wounded in the past and he had received warnings from police about being under threat.''

Less than a minute after the shooting, a Volkswagen Passat, stolen six months earlier in the Republic of Ireland, was seen speeding away from the scene. The vehicle was found burned out a short time later in Lurgan.

A post-mortem examination concluded that death was caused by bullet wounds to the head and trunk and Mr McKeown had been "struck by at least six bullets''.

In the aftermath of the killing, items recovered from the burned out Passat - which had been fitted with false number plates - were forensically examined as were cartridges located beside the victim's BMW.

O'Brien's DNA was found on a black disposable latex glove and a boiler suit discovered near the Passat.

He was further identified as one of two men captured on CCTV running into a cul-de-sac close to where the Passat was burned.

Martin was identified as the second man in the footage.

The court heard that in the days before the shooting, Martin had conducted searches about Mr McKeown on his phone.