Former Partner Speaks Out After Verdict
Sara Canning, who was Lyra McKee's partner at the time of her death, has expressed her hope that the person responsible for Lyra's killing is haunted by it "every waking minute."
Lyra McKee was fatally shot on 18 April 2019 during rioting in Londonderry when a dissident republican gunman opened fire.
On Friday, three men—Paul McIntyre, Peter Cavanagh, and Jordan Devine—were found not guilty of her murder.
Sara Canning described the gunman as "pathetic," stating that the shooting was an act of "showing off for the cameras" on the night Lyra was killed.
"You've never contributed one thing to this world. What you did that night was pathetic,"
"I hope you can't sleep at night I hope it haunts your every waking minute."
On the night of Lyra's death, an MTV crew was filming a documentary in Derry but had left the scene before the shooting occurred.
During the trial, court footage included TV presenter Reggie Yates saying, "If people are saying we're inciting it, then maybe we should call it a night." Sara commented that the killer was "showing off for Reggie Yates - that's really pathetic."
"It was showing off for cameras, it wasn't to free Ireland, it wasn't to make the life of people in Creggan and Derry and Ireland better."
Details of the Incident
Lyra McKee, a journalist, writer, and campaigner, was shot and killed while observing rioting in Londonderry on 18 April 2019.
She died after being hit by a bullet as she stood near police vehicles watching disturbances in the Creggan area of Derry.
Earlier that evening, a police operation targeting dissident republican activity had taken place nearby. Crowds gathered, and disorder followed, including petrol bombs being thrown at police and stolen vehicles set on fire.
A masked man fired four gunshots in the direction of police. Lyra was struck by a single bullet to the head and killed.
The New IRA, a dissident republican group, later claimed responsibility for the killing.
Identification of the Gunman
Sara Canning told NI that she knows who the gunman is and what he looks like.
"I don't possess the hate and the evil in me to hurt people the way that you do."
She described the not guilty verdicts announced on Friday as "gutting."
Sara expressed doubt that justice for Lyra will ever be achieved without "a massive change of heart or we find some really compelling evidence."
She described the trial as a difficult process.
Trial Outcome and Reactions
The verdicts concluded a trial lasting nearly two years and more than seven years after Lyra was killed.
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 was accused of firing the fatal shot that killed Lyra.
The prosecution argued that the accused accompanied a lone gunman to a firing point on the night of the shooting and encouraged or assisted him.
At the end of the hearing, Mrs Justice Smyth stated the trial's outcome would bring "little, if any, comfort or relief" to Lyra's family and friends.
"Lyra McKee was murdered in an act of senseless violence."
Sara reflected on the trial's emotional toll:
"You have two years where you're just so hopeful, and then it's completely dashed and taken away."
"I understand why the judge made the decision she made,"
but she added,
"I don't feel like we were warned enough about the possibility that our chances would be nil."
She stated that the system has let Lyra down.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) responded to the verdicts, saying it was "satisfied that our legal test for prosecution was met and that it was in the public interest to bring the case."
The PPS noted that the case overcame several robust legal challenges during proceedings and acknowledged that the acquittals would be "deeply disappointing to Lyra's family and loved ones."
About Lyra McKee
Lyra McKee was a journalist and campaigner from Belfast who had recently moved to Derry.
Recognized as a rising star, she contributed to many publications including Buzzfeed, Private Eye, The Atlantic, and Mosaic Science.
She was named Young Journalist of the Year in 2006 and was included in Forbes Magazine's "30 under 30" in media in Europe in 2016.
That same year, she wrote about being "a ceasefire baby" and part of the "Good Friday Agreement generation."
Her death occurred 21 years after the signing of the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland.
