Family plea as fresh probe gets under way into death of young Belfast woman nearly 50 years
IRA initially blamed but there were suggestions of possible military involvement
Last updated 8th Jun 2020
The family of a young Belfast woman shot dead after a night out in 1972 have urged any witnesses to come forward to help them discover the truth.
Jean Smyth-Campbell (24), died after she was shot as she sat in a car on the Glen Road following a night out.
The IRA were initially blamed, but there have since been suggestions of military involvement.
Former Bedfordshire chief constable Jon Boutcher has been appointed to lead an independent investigation.
It came after a court last year found that the PSNI lacked the necessary independence to investigate the murder.
Ms Smyth-Campbell's sister Margaret McQuillan has pleaded for any witnesses or anyone with information to help discover the truth, to come forward.
She said her family want truth and justice for Jean, adding: "She deserves that''.
In an appeal on the 48th anniversary of her sister's death, Ms McQuillan said her family have "so many unanswered questions''.
"She went out for a drink on the night, June 8 1972, and she never came home. She did come home the next day in a box,'' she said.
"The whole family has been traumatised and we still are. We cannot rest until we get so many unanswered questions.
"For years my mum stood at the window waiting for Jean coming home from work. She and my dad both went to their grave not knowing the truth of Jean's death.
"It feels as though we have been living a lie for over 40 years.
"We have fought hard and sore to have the investigation independently reviewed to establish the truth of what happened.
"We need people to come forward to tell the team what they know.
"Back then it wasn't uncommon for people to come out after a shooting. As far as I'm aware there was a lot of people who went to the car that Jean was shot in.
"If you have never come forward to speak to police or saw something on the night, then please help us find out what happened that night and how Jean was so sadly taken away from us.''
Mr Boutcher paid tribute to the family's fight for justice, and added his voice to the appeal for witnesses and information.
He said his team are "determined to get to the bottom of what happened to Jean that night''.
"Thus far we have reviewed all of the material that was obtained at the time,'' he said.
"We have been working closely with the solicitors who have done a huge amount of work in trying to recover documentation through the National Archives.
"We have conducted that review process so now we want to speak to people who were potentially in the security forces, in the community, members who were in the IRA at that time to try and understand for this family desperate to know the truth of what happened, what happened that night to Jean.''
Mr Boutcher specifically called for a young red-haired girl who helped Jean at the scene on the Glen Road in west Belfast to come forward.