Former British soldier David Holden, 53, was the first veteran to be convicted of a historical offence since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of conflict
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But trial judge Mr Justice O'Hara said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty.Holden admitted firing the shot which killed Mr McAnespie, but said he discharged the weapon by accident because his hands were wet.But Judge O'Hara said Holden had pointed a machine gun at Mr McAnespie and pulled the trigger, while assuming the gun was not cocked.He also said the former soldier had given a"deliberately false account" of what happened.
"We would have liked to see him get some sort of sentence, but it wasn't the be-all-and-end-all. As long as he was found guilty, that was the main thing." "Obviously, we are still extremely sad. We miss Aidan every day, but this will give some solace to the family."Paul Young, national spokesman for the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement, criticised the sentence and conviction of Holden.
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