Police Sorry for Flawed Investigation into Pensioner Stabbing

Jonathan McCambridge (PA)

Police have apologised to the family of a Coleraine murder victim for failings in their original investigation into the death.

Norman Moffatt, 73, was stabbed as he walked home from buying a paper on Railway Road in the Co Derry town on January 26 2001. He died in hospital two months later.

Mr Moffatt’s son, Barry, has welcomed the police apology but said that the botched investigation robbed his family of the chance for justice.

In January 2013, James Alexander McCook, originally from Northern Ireland, but who was then living in England, went on trial charged with the murder of Mr Moffatt.

But the trial collapsed after the judge raised concerns over inconsistencies in the evidence of a key witness.

Mr McCook has since died.

Following the collapse of the prosecution, the Moffatt family made a complaint to the Police Ombudsman, who carried out a review into the original investigation by PSNI.

In March 2021, the ombudsman upheld six complaints from the family.

On Monday, Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan, said the PSNI accepted the shortcomings identified by the ombudsman.

He said: “I recognise that the family of Mr Moffatt have had to live with this horrendous attack for many years.

“I want to sincerely apologise to the Moffatt family on behalf of the Police Service of Northern Ireland for all failings which have been highlighted in our handling of this case.

“We as a police service have since transformed our professional investigative practices.

“We have created the crime department, which contains major investigation teams, each led by an accredited, specialist senior investigating officer.

“Search and scene examination procedures have also been professionalised to prevent mistakes as outlined in this case from reoccurring.”

Barry Moffatt said: “On January 26, it will be 22 years since our father, Norman Moffatt, was murdered whilst out getting his morning paper.

“From day one, we as a family were not provided with information on what happened, on why it happened and on what steps police were taking to apprehend the suspect.

“It wasn’t until (Mr Moffatt) passed away that PSNI took his case seriously and it is our view that this led to serious flaws in their investigative approach.

“We have had very few answers about what happened but have battled on for all these years knowing that things were not done properly by police.

“Out of respect for mum, we held off questioning the role of the PSNI until it became clear to us that the investigation they had carried out was seriously flawed.”

“In 2021, the Police Ombudsman upheld every single complaint we had around police failings, and it is only following this that the PSNI have now apologised.”

He added: “Whilst we appreciate the apology today, it has been difficult for us as a family to process that our father’s killer will now not face justice as a result of police failings.

“We do welcome the fact that improvements have been made by PSNI and that no other family will have to go through this in the future.

“It will always be hard to digest that our father’s murder was solvable, but will now never be solved due to the mistakes of the PSNI.”

The family lawyer, Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law, said police failures had caused “untold hurt and trauma”.

He added: “We welcome this decision which gives all victims’ families here hope that the PSNI are accountable to the public.”