Police investigate UDR link in 1974 murder

Police in the North are investigating the possibility that an independent nationalist councillor whose body was found in a lake 29 years ago was murdered by soldiers from the Ulster Defence Regiment.

33-year-old Patrick Kelly, a councillor in Omagh, Co Tyrone, disappeared in the village of Trillick on July 25, 1974.

Three weeks later, his body floated to the surface of Lough Eyes near Lisbellaw, Co Fermanagh.

He had been shot a number of times and dumped in the lake with weights attached to his body.

The PSNI announced plans to reopen the investigation into the murder last month and detectives have now asked to speak to anyone who may have been present when a former UDR soldier allegedly admitted witnessing the killing.

In January 1999, Mr Kelly's family claimed they had been told that David Jordan, who has since died, broke down in a bar and confessed to his involvement. They said he had also named the other soldiers involved.