By Conor Sharkey
THE sister of murder victim, Andrew Burns, has called on the PSNI and Gardai to work together with the IMC to bring her brother's killers to justice.
Michele Burns' comments come as a Garda Superintendent at the centre of the Andrew Burns murder investigation said he has yet to read the latest Independent Monitoring Commission's (IMC) findings after the killing, despite the report being published a week ago.
In a report released last Thursday, the IMC confirmed speculation that a group styling itself Oglaigh na hEireann was behind the slaying of the 27-year-old Strabane man.
And while the development could prove vital in the hunt for Mr Burns killers, Gardai Superintendant Vincent O'Brien revealed yesterday (Wednesday) that he has not even accessed the crucial document, despite it being available on the IMC's website.
Monday marks three months since Mr Burns was murdered after being shot twice in a church yard in Donnyloop, Co Donegal. The PSNI and the Gardai have always remained adamant that they are jointly working to finding the killer. However questions have been raised over just how cross-border the investigation actually is.
And yesterday's admission by Superintendent O'Brien appears to highlight the lack of a cross-border relationship.
When contacted by the Strabane Chronicle, Mr O'Brien said the investigation was still very much a joint effort but he would not be drawn on Oglaigh na hEireann's alleged involvement nor if he believed the killers would ever be caught. He did add however that while he had not seen the IMC report, the investigation was "still very much alive".
On this side of the border, the lead investigator with the PSNI, Frankie Taylor was yesterday refusing to give any comment whatsoever on the Burns case.
The victim's sister Michelle said, "What was said in the IMC report seems to have been common knowledge for some time but it is still news to us as a family, because we have never been shown any evidence to suggest that Andrew was involved with any group.
"The IMC's information has come from somewhere and it needs to be followed up thoroughly. We know there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and I'm sure they have intelligence information that they can't release.
"I would now like to see the PSNI and the Gardai meet with the IMC, work together and bring Andrew's killers to justice and allow us as a family to put this behind us," she said.
