THE brother of a murdered West Belfast schoolgirl, thought to be shot dead by the British Army, has called for a fresh inquest ahead of her 50th anniversary.
Martha Campbell (13) and her friend were walking along Springhill Crescent when she was shot and killed on May 14, 1972.
Tony Campbell
The killing was unclaimed by any organisation, but new evidence uncovered in British Military files last year shows that the British Army’s First King’s Regiment had fired into area where Martha was shot.
Legacy research charity Paper Trail uncovered files written just hours after the murder, showing that the British Army lied in stating that it was not present in the area at the time.
A Historical Enquiries Team (HET) investigation backed up the lie that the British Army was not present at the time of Martha's death.
Martha's close friends and family will mark her anniversary with a private ceremony at her grave in Milltown Cemetery next Saturday.
Ahead of the anniversary, her brother Tony spoke of the need for a fresh inquest into her murder.
"After 50 years we're still no further on in terms of getting any truth or justice," he said.
"We've sat for the best part of those 50 years in limbo, not really knowing much at all. We're not even 100 per cent sure who killed Martha.
"For me, the new evidence that Ciarán MacAirt (Paper Trail) has uncovered shows that there has basically been a cover-up all these years, not only by the person that shot her who was a First King's Regiment soldier, but also the people at the higher level who knew about it.
"This all could have been done and sorted a the first inquest in 1972 and it was covered up. Even with the HET enquiry, which I was very much involved in, they were still covering it up. They said there wasn't any army in (nearby) Moyard Flats, and we know now that there was. We have a statement from a Platoon Commander who was on one of the landings there and actually saw Martha being shot.
"There's loads of holes in their account and the bitter thing for me is that it has been held out for so many years and so many of my family members have died. Many more will maybe die before we actually get to the truth -– if we ever do."
Solicitors for the Campbell family are currently compiling fresh evidence for submission to the Attorney General.
