DETECTIVES have said they believe they are close to identifying a man whose blood was found at the scene of the savage killing of former IRA man Eamon Collins in Newry 20 years ago.
Making a renewed appeal for information, police said a full DNA profile was extracted and analysis suggests this man suffered a severe injury during the "frenzied attack" on the father-of-four.
They said they will be following a number of lines of inquiry in the weeks ahead and "those responsible should expect police attention".
The barbaric nature of the attack on Collins was laid out in shocking detail at his inquest in 2007.
The 45-year-old, who was once an IRA intelligence officer but had become one of the organisation's most outspoken critics, went missing early on Wednesday morning January 27, 1999.
When his body was found on a country road police initially thought it must have been a hit-and-run because of the extent of his injuries.
There were more than 20 wounds to his face alone. He had been stabbed through the nose, the eye and the skull.
Experienced coroner John Leckey said it was "one of the most ghastly, brutal murders I have experienced" and he hoped the "sub-human thugs" responsible would be identified.
On the 15th anniversary of the killing, police revealed they had obtained a DNA profile from the scene. Part of a hunting knife was also recovered.
A man arrested the following month was released unconditionally, as were three men questioned later that year.
Before the murder, Collins had complained of a campaign of intimidation which included an arson attack on his car and one that destroyed the family home he was renovating outside the town.
Unlike other ex-IRA men who had spoken out, he had continued to live among republicans in Newry's Barcroft estate and graffiti there celebrated the fire and branded him a 'tout'.
He had been considering moving out, saying he couldn't subject his family to it any more.
"What's the next stage? Do I get executed on the street?" he told The Irish News a few months before his murder.
For six years Collins had been an IRA member, but after being arrested in 1985 he broke under interrogation and agreed to turn Queen's evidence. More than 40 people were arrested.
He later retracted his statements and was acquitted himself of dozens of charges when a judge ruled his confessions were unsafe.
After his release Collins was 'debriefed' by the IRA over three months and exiled.
He spent time working in Scotland and with Newry-born priest Fr Peter McVerry in impoverished areas of Dublin, before returning to Newry after the ceasefires.
But rather than keep a low profile, he spoke out about his paramilitary past, taking part in a TV documentary and in 1997 publishing a book, Killing Rage, which described in chilling detail his actions in the IRA.
He also wrote articles for The Irish News and other outlets, gave evidence against prominent republican Thomas 'Slab' Murphy in his failed libel action against The Sunday Times, and criticised dissident republicans following the Omagh bomb.
He wrote: "By exposing myself to the anger of my former comrades and the families of my victims, I wanted to show that I had thought long and hard about what had happened and that it is possible to become a different person - as we all have to become different people if we are to live together in Northern Ireland without political violence.
"I truly believe that only by confronting our past actions, by understanding the forces which drove us to carry them out, can we hope to create the possibility of a society in which these actions do not occur again."
Collins's morning routine had been to rise at 4.30am, paint over the latest graffiti near his home, and then go for a walk with his two dogs before returning to wake his family.
On the morning of January 27 1999, he did not return. His body was instead found at around 6am at Dorans Hill, a short distance away.
Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney, from PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch, said: "A car full of people pulled up beside him and launched a sudden, sustained and savage assault.
"Beaten about the body with blunt objects and stabbed repeatedly in the head and face, Eamon never stood a chance that morning.
“It’s a fact that elements of Eamon Collins’ life have been highly publicised in the media and other public records. However, that past was behind him and he himself had publicly rejected violence and turned away from those involved in such violence.
"At the time of his brutal murder, Eamon was simply a devoted husband and a loving father. The killers left in their destructive wake a grieving widow and four fatherless children.
“Detectives will be following a number of lines of enquiry in the weeks ahead and those responsible should expect police attention.
"A full DNA profile has been recovered from the crime scene. We believe this DNA profile was left by one of the killer gang. With the advances in DNA technology, I believe we are close to identifying this person.
“However, police are always reliant on information from the public to help us solve such crimes. In this instance, the DNA profile was extracted from blood left at the scene. Forensic analysis of the blood tells us that the person who left it was male, and that he himself suffered a severe injury during this frenzied attack.
"There will be people in the community, whether in the Newry area or south of the border or anywhere else, who are aware of an acquaintance, a relative, a neighbour suffering such an unexplained wound.
“Twenty years have now passed since this merciless killing. I ask those who were involved, or heard accounts of what happened, either in the immediate aftermath or indeed over the years, to think about the devastating effect this has had on Eamon’s family, and to come forward to the police."
Anyone with information was asked to contact detectives on 101 or LIBEnquiries@psni.pnn.police.uk, or anonymously via the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
