Vincent Hickey

Patrick Molloy, James Robinson, Michael Hickey, and Vincent Hickey (the Bridgewater 4) were convicted of the murder of Carl Bridgewater who was shot dead while delivering a newspaper to a house. Malloy and Hickey were said to have made admissions to the murder. On appeal, evidence was introduced that cast doubt on the veracity of these confessions. Mr Malloy said he had been tricked into making a confession after he was shown a statement purportedly made by Hicky (but likely to have been forged). Electrostatic document analysis tested later suggested police had created such a statement with Vincent Hickey’s forced signature on it. Mr Malloy also said the police had beaten him and deprived him of food, drink, and sleep during the investigation. There were also claimed to be disclosure issues in the case (specifically evidence of unknown fingerprints that was not disclosed). The Court of Appeal concluded that the criminal justice process did not operate fairly in the case and so the convictions should be quashed.

View Press (news.bbc.co.uk)