MP welcomes guilty pleas from two men accused of murdering Ian Ogle in 2019

By Mark Rainey
Published 1st Feb 2024, 16:46 BST
Ian Ogle who was murdered by a loyalist gang in january 2019Ian Ogle who was murdered by a loyalist gang in january 2019
Ian Ogle who was murdered by a loyalist gang in january 2019
An MP has said he hopes the guilty pleas from two men accused of murdering Ian Ogle “can offer some sense of closure” to the east Belfast man’s family.

Mr Ogle, 45, was attacked and stabbed 11 times close to his Cluan Place home in Cluan Place in January 2019.

At Belfast Crown Court on Thursday, Jonathan Brown, 38, from Whinney Hill, Dundonald and Mark Sewell, 45, of Glenmount Drive, Newtownabbey both pleaded guilty to murder and received life sentences.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

East Belfast MP and DUP deputy leader Gavin Robinson said the Ogle-Johnston family has had to endure intimidation and abuse as well as dealing with grief.

“It is five years since the brutal murder of Ian Ogle close to his home in Cluan Place. During that time the Ogle family have not only had to deal with grief but have tirelessly campaigned for justice in the midst of pressure, intimidation and abuse against Vera, Toni, Ryan and the wider family,” Mr Robinson said.

“They have never wavered in their steadfast pursuit of justice, and I pay tribute to them for not losing sight of their goals and not losing hope in the most trying of circumstances.

"The admission of guilt by the two men in this case, and the life sentences handed down to them cannot undo the trauma and grief they have suffered as a result of Ian’s murder or the abuse they have subsequently suffered. I do hope however that it can bring some level of closure for the family and a recognition that justice has been served against two individuals”.