Nick Spanos and Stephen Melrose

Nick Spanos and Stephen Melrose were Australian tourists killed by the IRA on 27 May 1990.

Overview

A native of Sydney who relocated to London, Spanos was a twenty-eight year old Australian traveling with twenty-four year old Stephen Melrose, (originally from Brisbane), and their partners on a four-day holiday to see a Van Gogh exhibition. Spanos and Melrose were commercial lawyers. In the town of Roermond, Holland, while Stephen Melrose was taking a picture in the town square, people wearing balaclavas ran towards the group and opened fire. The two men were targeted and killed, although their partners were uninjured.^[1][2]

Aftermath

The killings were claimed by the IRA, who believed Spanos and Melrose were off-duty British soldiers. The IRA issued a statement saying they "regretted" the killings.^[1] The Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, described the statement as "twisted, too late and meaningless."^{[citation needed]}

Paul Hughes (born Newry, 1958), Donna McGuire (born Newry, 1963), Sean Hick (born Glenagary, County Dublin, 1956), and Gerard Harte (born Lurgan, 1956)^[2] were arrested in Belgium in June 1990, and were later charged with the killings.^[3] Harte was convicted but his conviction was overturned.^[2] The other three, while acquitted, faced other charges in West Germany, accused of the murder of Major Michael J. Dillon-Lee. Though acquitted, the trial judge stated that he believed they were indeed members of the IRA.^{[citation needed]}

Evidence linked Desmond Grew, an IRA member later killed by the SAS, to the group.^[4]

McGuire was eventually convicted over a failed bombing attempt.^[5]

August 2010

In August 2010 the parents and two sisters of Stephen Melrose visited Stormount in an effort to "find answers about his murder." They were greeted by Ulster Unionist MLA, David McNarry, but were refused a meeting by both Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness and Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr. Melrose's sister, Helen Jackson, said that the refusals of McGuinness and Adams "spoke volumes." She went on to say that:

"We feel that, basically, justice was never done. The people who killed Stephen are walking the street, living life, like us. How can that happen? We are just wondering how the system works, that that can be allowed to happen. Stephen was a lawyer, he deserves justice, everybody does.

Eighty-year old Roy Melrose stated:

"We just wanted to find out if we could get any answers as to why the murderers of our son were let off. We feel that time heals a lot. We’ve looked at it that our son is a hero, that helps us a lot, thinking that way. He is a hero. I think there seems to be a lot of forgotten victims."

Before travelling to Northern Ireland the family visited the murder scene in Holland for the first time.

See also

• Heidi Hazell
• The Hanna family
• Jean McConville
• Gerry McCabe
• Ronan Kerr
• Thomas Oliver (farmer)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "IRA Admits 2 Killings Were a Tragic Mistake". Deseret News. 29 May 1990. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/104646/IRA-ADMITS-2-KILLINGS-WERE-A-TRAGIC-MISTAKE.html. Retrieved 6 July 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Twenty Years On, A Family's Question Still Remains: Why Did The IRA Kill Our Sons?". Sunday Tribune. 22 August 2010. http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2010/aug/22/twenty-years-on-a-familys-question-still-remains-w/. Retrieved 6 July 2011. 
3. ^ MacKinnon, Ian (1 June 1994). "Court set to clear suspected IRA terrorist". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/court-set-to-clear-suspected-ira-terrorist-1419601.html. Retrieved 6 July 2011. 
4. ^ "Dutch prosecutor urges court to 'give IRA killers 20 years'".  Herald. 13 March 1991. 
5. ^ Cassidy, John (12 November 2000). "Bomber Donna's Fury as IRA Shoot Brother". Sunday Mirror. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20001112/ai_n14517987/. Retrieved 6 July 2011. 

External links

• http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/strong_response_to_documentary_on_ira_murders_1_1849798
• http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/ira-suspect-charged-with-two-murders-1.571266
• http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/parents-of-lsquoforgottenrsquo-ira-victim-in-appeal-for-justice-14900751.html

References

• Lost Lives:The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles, p. 1198–99, McKittrick, Kelters, Feeney, Thompson, 1999, (2006). ISBN 1 84018 227 X.