Man held over 1986 murder
A man has been arrested in Greater Belfast by detectives investigating the murder of a man by loyalist paramilitaries more than 20 years ago.
The 44-year-old was detained by officers from the Historical Enquiries Team reinvestigating the murder of Robert Coggles in August 1986.
Mr Coggles, a 31-year-old Protestant from Sunningdale Gardens in north Belfast’s Ballysillan area, is believed to have been killed by a UVF punishment squad.
His partially-decomposed body was found at Carr’s Glen on the northern outskirts of the city. He had been shot in the head.
The body was discovered in a shallow grave after several days of police searches some two weeks after he disappeared.
A man out walking his dog raised the alarm after finding a tooth, bloodstains and a trail of blood leading to the grave several days after people in the area reported hearing shots in the early hours of the morning.
In a separate operation by the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch, a 60-year-old man was arrested in east Belfast as part of a renewed investigation into the murder of Stanley Close.
The 65-year-old was strangled to death at his Canton Court home in the Willowfield area on August 25th 1986.
The suspect was taken to Antrim Serious Crime Suite for questioning.
