'Why did they murder my son?' asks mother

For more than three decades Catherine Winton has been asking why her 21-year-old son Robert was shot dead by the paramilitary organisation. And the 79-year-old now fears she’ll never know the truth.

Just days after the anniversary of her son’s death, and the recent publication of a report into the murder by the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team (HET), Mrs Winton has made a public appeal for those responsible for the killing to give her family answers about why they did it.

Robert McCreight lived in Ballyduff but was a member of the UVF in Carrickfergus. He was shot dead on August 25 1975. His body was found on farmland near Templepatrick several days later.

Three men - Robert Cardwell, John Gaw and Gerald Reynolds - were later convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. At the trial it was suggested that Robert had been killed for ‘talking to the UDA’. However, his family say that was just an excuse used by the UVF to justify their brutal actions.

The man believed to have been the head of the UVF in Carrickfergus at the time of the killing refused to co-operate with the HET’s investigation, but Mrs Winton says she would be willing to meet him or his associates face to face in a bid to get answers about her son’s death.

“I can’t get it out of my head - it’s in it every day,” she told the TIMES. “I’ve been trying to figure out why he was killed for the past 35 years and I still don’t know why.

“Someone knows something about why Robert was murdered and they should come forward and say why. I think that would give me some peace of mind before I go.

“If they don’t want to speak to the police or the HET then I’ll meet them. I’m willing to speak to them face to face if they’ll tell me why Robert was murdered.”

Robert’s sister, Alexis Harbuckle, claimed that her brother had got involved with the UVF as “some of his mates had joined and it seemed like the thing to do at the time”.

Expressing her thanks to the Historical Enquiries Team, she said their findings confirmed the family’s long-held view that there had been no reason for the murder.

“Robert was never an informer. Someone had it in for him and that was just used as an excuse,” she said.

“Someone put his name forward - the lads who did it were acting under orders. Some person or persons put his name forward as someone who needed to be bumped off. I’d like to know who they were. I’d like them to tell us why Robert was killed. I’d like them to put their hands up and say ‘Sorry, it shouldn’t have happened’.

“No-one will take responsibility for what happened, but I just want them to know that we’re still looking for them and we won’t give up.”