HET Review Summary Report into the death of William Francis ...

HET Review of Original Investigation
Papers / Documentation
The HET has conducted a review of the original investigation into the
shooting of William Francis McGreanery, and this has now been
completed. As part of the process, the HET recovered and considered
the original papers for this incident consisting of a police file, including
sketches and plans of the scene, a Post mortem file, Inquest File and a
file compiled by the army.
Review of Exhibits
The presence of entry and exit wounds indicates that the high velocity
bullet that killed Mr McGreanery passed straight through him. The bullet
was not recovered by the police or the army. There are no references to
any weapons being recovered but soldier ‘A’ said that a superior officer
examined his weapon after the shooting to confirm that only one shot had
been discharged. The weapon was returned to him after the examination.
HET Comment: Had such an incident occurred today, the weapon would
have been seized as part of the police investigation even though there
was no dispute about who had fired the fatal shot and what weapon had
been used. However, it is not military policy to take possession of
weapons that have been discharged by soldiers unless there is a
suggestion that for some reason or another the weapon malfunctioned.
Review of Forensic Evidence
There are no forensic files or exhibits in existence that would be
available for further forensic analysis. However, hand swabs were taken
from Mr McGreanery when he was in the hospital mortuary, and they
were later examined by scientists at the Forensic Science Laboratory.
HET Comment: It was standard police practice in firearms incidents to
examine the hands and clothing of victims and suspects to establish via
forensic testing if they have been in contact with firearms or explosives.
The results of these tests, which concluded that Mr McGreanery had not
fired a weapon, are discussed later in this report.
27/5/2010
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