Man cleared of schoolgirl's murder

A man was today cleared of the murder of teenager Arlene Arkinson more than 10 years ago.

The jury at Belfast Crown Court took almost 23 hours to find Robert Howard, 61, not guilty of the 15-year-old schoolgirl's murder.

As the verdict was read out some members of the Arkinson family, including Arlene's sister Kathleen, stormed out of the courtroom.

Howard showed no emotion.

Arlene, from Castlederg, went missing after a night out in Bundoran, Co Donegal, in August 1994.

And despite extensive searches on both sides of the border her body has never been found.

Last week Howard was cleared on one of four counts of perverting the course of justice over Arlene's disappearance.

The jury has still to deliver verdicts on the remaining three counts of perverting the course of justice.

Kathleen, Arlene's elder sister, said: "I am suicidal. It is a total shock, but we will never give up hope and I want the police to continue until they find Arlene so that we can grieve properly."

The prosecution claimed that on the night Arlene went missing she had gone out with Howard, his girlfriend's daughter and the daughter's boyfriend. It was claimed she was last seen alive when Howard drove off alone with her in the early hours of Sunday, August 14, 1994.

At the time of Arlene's disappearance Howard had a flat in the centre of Castlederg but was living with his girlfriend Patricia Quinn and her family in the centre of town.

Howard, who is originally from Wolfhill, Co Laois, was interviewed a number of times after the girl's disappearance but always denied having anything to do with it.

In excess of 30 or 40 searches were mounted on the border by police and efforts to trace Arlene through the records of social services, the passport office or driving licence centres throughout the UK and Ireland all proved negative.

Police decided that "a combination of events and extensive inquiries over the years" indicated Arlene was dead.