David Murphy murder: PUP man says ‘I hoped the days of the gun had gone’

Ken Wilkinson, South Antrim spokesman for the UVF-linked PUP, said he “knew of” the victim, but was not well acquainted with him.

A 2007 edition of the journal Irish Political Studies states that in June 2005 Mr Murphy was “jailed for four years for ordering deactivated guns from the internet, activating them, and storing them for the UVF”.

“My sympathy is to his family,” said Mr Wilkinson.

“I thought these days were long gone, but unfortunately we’ve guns on the streets again. I don’t like to see anybody lose their life.

“And if anybody has any information they should give it to the police.”

When asked about any possibility of UVF involvement in the attack, he said: “No. None whatsoever.”

Mr Murphy was also fined £250 for common assault in 2008, whilst a charge of threatening to kill was withdrawn.

It was reported by some media that at the time of his death Mr Murphy was facing trial for trying to extort £10,000 from an alleged victim via blackmail, and making threats to kill, but those charges were in fact withdrawn in November after the PPS decided they did not meet its evidence test.

The same charges against a co-accused were also withdrawn.

Mr Murphy could have lain undiscovered for some time before being found dead with shotgun wounds at his rural Co Antrim home, said detective superintendent Jason Murphy, who yesterday said that the killing of the 52-year-old was “an attack not just on him but his family, his parents, his siblings, and the community”.

He was found dead between his hallway and his kitchen on Tuesday lunchtime by a friend who became concerned about his whereabouts.

“His home was his castle,” said detective superintendent Murphy.

“He believed he was safe. And somebody brutally took David’s life over the past few days... The timeframe of Saturday to Tuesday is deliberately broad. At this stage, I don’t know exactly when he was killed.”

He had lived in a townland on the main road about midway between Ballymena and Larne.

At time of writing yesterday, the PSNI said whilst pathology investigations were still going on, it is believed Mr Murphy was shot twice.

The weapon has not been recovered.

When it comes to his family, police said Mr Murphy’s parents live nearby to him, and he has siblings.

Det Supt Murphy told a press conference yesterday that the victim was “known to police”, but would not be drawn on potential motives.

“It’s an open mind we’ve started with and it’s an open mind we’ll maintain,” he said.

On the question of whether police may be considering a possible link to the recent Ian Ogle murder in east Belfast, which was believed to have ties to the UVF, he said: “No at this stage I’m not, frankly... At this stage I’ve got no evidence to link David Murphy’s murder to any other murder that’s taken place – or indeed any other incident.”

To help piece together the circumstances of the killing, he asked for anybody who travelled in the Church Road area where the victim lived and who noticed anything, or who has dash-cam footage, to get in touch.

He mentioned delivery drivers in particular.