Ex-soldier to stand trial over murder bid

Charges link OAP to 1974 killing

A FORMER soldier has been ordered to stand trial next year accused of the attempted murder of a vulnerable man 45 years ago.

Dennis Hutchings was not present in Belfast Crown Court yesterday for the brief hearing.

Senior judge Mr

Justice Colton set the date for the non-jury Diplock-style trial as March 9 next year.

He was told an up-to-date medical report on the 78-yearold former member of the Life Guards regiment made for “grim reading’’.

Mr Justice Colton also ruled the accused, from Cawsand, Cornwall, will be formally arraigned later this month on the two charges he faces.

Both prosecution and defence agreed that hearing can take place via videolink from an English court.

Mr Hutchings has been accused of the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham, who was killed on June 15, 1974.

Mr Cunningham was shot in the back by the Army with an SLR rifle on the outskirts of Benburb, Co Tyrone.

The ex-soldier is further accused of unlawfully and maliciously attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Cunningham with intent. A previous hearing was told Mr Hutchings was suffering from “acute renal failure’’ and would spend the rest of his life on dialysis. Yesterday, defence barrister Ian Turkington said the defendant was currently “receiving dialysis three times per week’’.

He added that because of the defendant’s treatment, there would need to be consultation between Mr Hutchings’ primary care health officials in England and their counterparts in Northern Ireland. Mr Cunningham, 27, whose mental age was said to have been between six and 10, was shot as he ran across fields towards his home.

A probe into the killing by the PSNI’S Historical Enquiries Team confirmed Mr Cunningham was “easily confused and may have had an inherent fear of men in uniform and armoured vehicles”. It concluded he was unarmed, shot while running away and presented no threat to the soldiers or anyone else.