Four held in 1974 murder inquiry

Four men have been arrested by police investigating the murder of a Tyrone councillor more than 30 years ago.

Patrick Kelly, a nationalist member of Omagh District Council, was shot dead in July 1974 after locking up a bar.

His body was found in a lake in County Fermanagh several weeks later. Four men were arrested in their homes on Tuesday and are being questioned in Antrim.

The murder was admitted by the UFF. The inquiry was re-opened in 2003, led by an officer from the West Midlands.

Mr Kelly, 33, was shot on the Badoney Road as he drove to his home at Golan on 24 July 1974.

Searches were organised to look for Mr Kelly

That same night, bloodstains, shirt buttons and cartridge cases were found on the roadside a mile from Trillick, where it is believed he met his killers.

His body was found three weeks later, 10 miles away in Lough Eyes in Fermanagh. He had been shot several times and his body had been weighted down.

A major search was launched after the roadside discoveries, but it was called off a week before Mr Kelly's body floated to the surface of the lake.

Police had been under intense pressure to launch a fresh investigation amid claims of collusion between the killers and the security forces in the murder.

His family want an independent inquiry into his death.