Three men found not guilty of murdering journalist Lyra McKee in Northern Ireland

Three men accused of the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry in 2019 have been acquitted.

Mrs Justice Smyth continues to give her verdict on other charges in the long-running non-jury trial at Belfast Crown Court.

Paul McIntyre, 58, of Kells Walk in Derry, Peter Cavanagh, 38, of Mary Street, and Jordan Gareth Devine, 25, of Bishop Street, had faced charges of joint enterprise murder.

Ms McKee, 29, died when she was struck by a bullet while standing near police vehicles while observing disturbances in the Creggan area of ​​Derry on 18 April 2019.

Multiple petrol bombs were aimed at police and a car was set on fire during chaotic scenes, resulting in four shots being fired at officers.

The New IRA claimed responsibility for Ms McKee’s death.

The prosecution’s case was that the three men accompanied and encouraged or assisted a lone gunman on the night of Ms. McKee’s murder.

But defense lawyers criticized the standard of evidence in the case, which was almost entirely circumstantial.

Ms McKee’s murder sparked an outpouring of condemnation and grief in 2019 that quickly spread beyond Northern Ireland and engulfed the world.

His killing sparked widespread outrage and led to pressure on politicians to break the impasse and begin talks at Stormont to restore the then-suspended power-sharing institutions.

Among those who attended his funeral were former Irish president Michael D Higgins, then prime minister Theresa May and former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Ms McKee, originally from Belfast, had recently moved to Derry before her murder to live with her partner Sara Canning.

He had tweeted about the “absolute madness” in Londonderry in the hours before he was shot dead.

Ms McKee came to prominence in 2014 after she blogged “Letter to my 14-year-old self”, in which she described the struggle of growing up gay in Belfast.

In the following years, his letter was turned into a short film, he became a book author, signed a two-book agreement with Faber & Faber, and appeared in domestic and international publications.

Ms. McKee, who was named one of the “30 under 30 in media” by Forbes Magazine in 2016, was cited for her passion for “investigating topics that others don’t care about.”

He was murdered a few weeks before the publication of his book Blue-Faced Angels.

The non-fiction book was about the Troubles-era cold case murder of the Reverend Robert Bradford, MP for South Belfast.

He was also editor of the California-based news site Mediagazer, a trade publication covering the media industry.

The National Union of Journalists described Ms McKee as one of Northern Ireland’s most promising journalists.

He was also seen as a hero by many in the LGBT community in Northern Ireland.

Public anger over his death has put huge pressure on politicians to break two years of political deadlock at Stormont at a time when devolved power-sharing institutions are suspended.

Reaction to his killing helped spark political talks in 2019 as part of an attempt to end the impasse.

Paying tribute at Ms McKee’s funeral, her sister Nichola Corner said: “We have the power to create the kind of society Lyra dreamed of.

“A place where labels are meaningless.

“A place where everyone is valued.

“A place where every child has the chance to grow and achieve their dreams.”

He added: “In Lyra’s own words, we must change our world one by one, now let’s get to work.”