They sprung terror attacks in south Armagh, south Down, east Tyrone and even as far away as south Derry. Crime Scene Photos The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office released graphics images this week, taken in the aftermath of 27-year-old Christian Obumseli's death. On This Day: The Miami Showband Massacre in Co Down [68] During the trial, Des McAlea had received death threats which made him fear for the safety of his family; this caused him to eventually leave Northern Ireland. Irish Times diarist Frank McNally summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". The night after the Miami Showband massacre, gunmen shot a minibus near Gilford. [19] The Irish Times reported that on the night following the attack, the British ambassador Sir Arthur Galsworthy was summoned to hear the Government of Ireland's strong feelings regarding the murder of the three band members. Miami Showband: Massacre devastated Northern Ireland live music scene They also discovered a stolen white Ford Escort registration number 4933 LZ,[43] which had been left behind by the gunmen, along with two guns, ammunition, green UDR berets and a pair of glasses later traced to James McDowell, the gunman who had allegedly ordered the shootings. Ashford had been asked to leave the band in 1973, for complaining that performing in Northern Ireland put their lives at risk. At no time did this new soldier speak to any of the band members nor did he directly address Crozier. Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. 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. [81] Neill's car was one of those allegedly used in the Buskhill attack. I did what I did. [4] Two men had been observed acting suspiciously inside the Castle Ballroom during the band's performance that night, suggesting that the Miami Showband's movements were being carefully monitored. [58], Following the post-mortems, funerals were held for the three slain musicians; they received televised news coverage by RT, Ireland's public service broadcaster. Autopsy Photos Of Inmate Allegedly 'Boiled' To Death Raise - HuffPost Despite severe burns sustained in the Miami attack, a month later Jackson was soon back on a murder mission with his trusted fellow killer John Somerville. But two other UVF men, Thomas Crozier and James McDowell - both soldiers in the UDR - were jailed for life. He was unimpressed by the UVF men he met in the loyalist stronghold. These were held on 1 May 1975 and the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC), which had won 11 out of 12 Northern Irish seats in the February 1974 general election, won a majority again. UVF killer Wesley Somerville who died in the attack. They asked him if he recognised it or could he identify it. The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour". He was charged with the Miami Showband murders, the attempted murder of Stephen Travers, and the murder of Patrick Falls in 1974. 1,913 Vintage Crime Scene Premium High Res Photos [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". "After the explosion, the red mist came down and I went mad with a machine-gun," he once told a fellow loyalist prisoner. The monument, entitled Let's Dance is made of limestone, bronze and granite, by County Donegal sculptor Redmond Herrity, and is at the site of the old National Ballroom, where the band often played. On 15 October 1976, Crozier and McDowell both received life sentences for the Miami Showband murders. It also devastated the burgeoning live music scene in Northern Ireland.. One of the first famous crime scene photos was taken on May 5, 1903, in the home of a Parisian woman named Madame Debeinche who had been murdered. Three photos, which have been cropped slightly and published below, show the extent of the injuries to Rainey's chest, back, arms and legs. He served in C Company, 11th Battalion UDR. 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. [20] He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy. But along with his friend Jackson, he helped build the UVF in mid-Ulster. [94][95], A mural and memorial plaque to Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville is in the Killycomain Estate in Portadown, where Boyle had lived. "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from Antrim. The band's road manager, Brian Maguire, had already gone ahead a few minutes earlier in the equipment van. [18][22] Meanwhile, two other gunmen at the front of the minibus were placing the briefcase containing the bomb under the driver's seat. The Miami Showband Massacre | Miami He also survived by remaining silent, pretending he was dead. [88], Travers travelled to Belfast in 2006 for a secret meeting with the second-in-command of the UVF's Brigade Staff, in an attempt to come to terms with the killing of his former colleagues and friends. Those responsible for the attack belonged to the Glenanne gang, a secret alliance of loyalist militants, Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police officers and UDR soldiers. DISC 2 REPLACEMENT ONLY CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Miami 7th Season [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. [46][49] In 1993, Boyle was named by The Hidden Hand programme as one of the Dublin car bombers. In a police statement made following his arrest for possession of the silencer and Luger on 31 May 1976, Jackson maintained that a week before he was taken into custody, two RUC officers had tipped him off about the discovery of his fingerprints on the silencer; he also claimed they had forewarned him: "I should clear as there was a wee job up the country that I would be done for and there was no way out of it for me". 50 True-Crime Documentaries on Netflix | 2023 . [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. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images [34] All the gunmen were members of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade and had been lying in wait to ambush the band, having set up the checkpoint just minutes before. [29] Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. Aaron Carter's mom releases shocking pictures of his 'death scene' bathroom in desperate bid to get cops to probe his death as a crime despite coroner saying it was an accidental drugs overdose Chris Hudson, a former intermediary between the government of Ireland and the UVF, whose role was crucial to the Northern Ireland peace process. Almost his entire head was destroyed. They had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart . "[54] In May 1976, Robin Jackson's fingerprints were discovered on the metal barrel of a home-made silencer constructed for a Luger. Miami showband massacre Stock Photos and Images [5] This move made loyalists apprehensive and suspicious that a secret accord was being conducted between the British government and the IRA, and that Northern Ireland's Protestants would be "sold out". 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 . 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. [33], A stamp was issued in Ireland on 22 September 2010 commemorating the Miami Showband. 2023 Getty Images. [48] Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were UDR soldiers as well as holding the rank of major and lieutenant, respectively, in the UVF. However, Martin Dillon alleged that the bomb was meant to go off in the Irish Republic. 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. [34], Thomas Crozier recounted that on the night of the killings, he had driven to the grounds of a school in Lurgan where he had picked up two men. 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. 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. While the Miami is synonymous, for many, with the atrocity, the musical tells the whole story of the band, Lynch says, from when it re-formed in 1967, and Fran O'Toole and Des Lee first joined . "Kevin Myers: The Miami Showband massacre was one of the most depraved massacres of the Troubles". Gaelic footballer brothers John Martin Reavey (24) and Brian (22) died at the scene, while 17-year-old Anthony died three weeks later. The 55-cent stamp, designed with a 1967 publicity photograph of the band, included two of the slain members, Fran O'Toole and Brian McCoy, as part of the line-up when Dickie Rock was the frontman. [17] Five Catholic civilians were shot; passenger Joseph Toland was killed outright and driver James Marks died of his wounds in January 1976. [37][38] This might have resulted in the Irish authorities enforcing tighter controls over the border, thus restricting IRA operations. [80] The same panel revealed that about six weeks before the attack, Thomas Crozier, Jackson and the latter's brother-in-law Samuel Fulton Neill, were arrested for the possession of four shotguns. Miami Showband massacre: UK government accused of 'lies' after 1.5m [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. Geraghty was engaged to be married. . It was one of a series of four stamps issued by An Post, celebrating the "golden age of the Irish showband era from the 1950s to the 1970s".[24]. Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen. 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. It allows for commemoration and leaving of flowers at the location itself. They received the blessing of jailed UVF leader Gusty Spence, who was serving life for the Malvern Street murder and shootings in 1966. The RUC suggested the IRA had meant to attack a police minibus in revenge for the Miami killings, but had mistakenly attacked a civilian minibus instead. Asked whether he had anything valuable inside the case, Travers replied no. Free shipping for many products! She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead. Jackson was charged with possession of the silencer but not convicted, the trial judge having reportedly said: "At the end of the day I find that the accused somehow touched the silencer, but the Crown evidence has left me completely in the dark as to whether he did that wittingly or unwittingly, willingly or unwillingly". Date: 12th November 1941 Means: Assassinated. [19], The 1975 line-up comprised four Catholics and two Protestants. About 10 gunmen were at the checkpoint, according to author and journalist Martin Dillon. Some wounds are a deep red, with blood vessels clearly visible; others expose underlying tissue. [12] Journalist Joe Tiernan suggested that Hanna was shot for refusing to participate in the Miami Showband attack and that he had become an informer for the Garda in exchange for immunity from prosecution for the Dublin bombings. Although not a member of any loyalist paramilitary group,[26] he was a close friend of Harris Boyle and the two were often seen together. Three band members were taken from their tour bus and shot . [44], McDowell's statement of admission was published in David McKittrick's book Lost Lives:[44]. Krijg toegang tot het beste van Getty Images met ons eenvoudige abonnement. 25,406 Crime Scene Photos Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images In 2005, Somerville attended a ceremony in Portadown honouring his dead brother Wesley. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". According to Martin Dillon, the order to shoot was given by the patrol's apparent leader, James McDowell,[36] to eliminate witnesses to the bogus checkpoint and subsequent bombing. How do you write a feelgood musical about the Miami Showband massacre Following the explosion pandemonium broke out among the remaining gunmen; shouting obscenities, they started shooting the dazed band members, who had all been blown down into the field below the level of the road from the force of the blast. 1.6K. 2023 Getty Images. Crime Scene Photos - Crime Online Near the anniversary of the killings, a temporary plaque is placed at the location of the killings. [44] None of the men ever named their accomplices, and the other UVF gunmen were never caught. 14 December 2011. The ruthless UVF killer fell into a deep depression fuelled by alcohol. [66] RUC officer John Weir claims that UDR corporal and alleged UVF member Robert McConnell was involved in the attack. [22], At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the UDR. 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.