David Holden was found guilty of the manslaughter of Aidan McAnespie in Tyrone 35 years ago.
An ex-soldier who was given a suspended sentence for killing an unarmed man at an Army checkpoint has withdrawn a legal challenge to his conviction.He was killed by a bullet that ricocheted off the road and hit him in the back at a checkpoint.
Holden, who was found guilty of manslaughter in November 2022, was later sentenced to three years in prison but the judge suspended the term for three years. An attempt by Holden to have his conviction overturned was due to begin at the Court of Appeal in Belfast on Tuesday.Mr McAnespie was walking through a checkpoint in the village of Aughnacloy, County Tyrone, on his way to attend a Gaelic football match when the fatal shot was fired.He was a member of the Grenadier Guards and was carrying out his first day of checkpoint duties.
The trial was told that Mr McAnespie was known to security forces as a "person of interest" as he was suspected of being a member of the IRA.During the trial, the defendant claimed the shooting was an accident and that he did not intend to fire his weapon.The trial heard that Holden did not realise the machine gun was cocked.
The defendant also claimed his hands were wet at the time and his finger slipped on the trigger of the gun, discharging three shots, one of which struck Mr McAnespie.
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