Former supergrass released over murder
Former UVF supergrass and convicted killer Jimmy Crockard has been released by police after two days of questioning about the 2007 murder of Dundonald pensioner Charlie Stead.
No charges have been preferred against Crockard but on Thursday morning he was returned to Maghaberry jail where he gave himself up last month after his life sentence early release licence was revoked.
A PSNI spokesman said “A 56 year old man being questioned by detectives investigating Mr Stead’s murder in February 2007 has been returned unconditionally to the custody of Maghaberry prison. Inquiries into the killing are continuing.”
Crockard who had been in hiding in Spain travelled back to Northern Ireland nearly three weeks ago saying he wanted to clear his name over the brutal killing.
Crockard’s solicitor Joe Rice said that during a lengthy series of interviews at the PSNI’s serious crime suite in Antrim his client had consistently denied killing Mr Stead.
He said detectives hadn’t produced any evidence to link Crockard to the killing.
At one point the PSNI were granted a 12-hour extension to the 36-hour period they could hold Crockard for questioning.
“Mr Crockard has given police a full account of his movements and has told them that he had nothing to do with Mr Stead’s killing” said Mr Rice.
Ninety-two-year-old Mr Stead, who was a Royal Navy war hero, was beaten to death at his Canberra Park home in February 2007.
Crockard has admitted that he was in Ireland at the time of the killing but he has told detectives he was not anywhere near Dundonald.
The supergrass who testified against 29 loyalists in the mid-80s believes police linked him to the Stead murder because British tourists in Spain who had met him put him in the frame for the killing after seeing appeals on the BBC Crimewatch programme in the summer of 2007.
Last month Crockard went back to Maghaberry prison after his life sentence licence was revoked by security minister Paul Goggins who claimed that he was a danger to the public.
Crockard who was convicted of murdering two Catholic men in Belfast over 30 years
ago has been recalled to prison four times but he has never been convicted of any other offences.
