Daniel Hegarty was shot dead in 1972
By Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor
A former soldier accused of killing a Londonderry teenager more than 50 years ago has died, BBC News NI understands.
Relatives of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty were informed of the death of the veteran, known as Soldier B, on Friday by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).
It is understood he died on Thursday.
Soldier B was facing the prospect of being prosecuted for the teenager’s death in the Creggan area of Derry.
The schoolboy was shot on 31 July 1972 during Operation Motorman, the name given to a military operation by the Army to reclaim “no-go areas” set up by republican paramilitaries in towns and cities across Northern Ireland.
Daniel’s cousin Christopher Hegarty, who was 16, was wounded in the same incident.
At the time, Operation Motorman was largest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956.
In July 2021, the PPS announced that it was dropping the case against Soldier B.
But that decision was challenged by the family and it was quashed by the Court of Appeal in August.
The Hegarty family said “they took no delight” in Soldier B’s death
In a statement on Tuesday, the Hegarty family said “they took no delight” in Soldier B’s death.
“In fact, we will pray that God forgives Soldier B for murdering Daniel. We will offer a Mass for Soldier B as well. Our mother did the same in 1972,” the family said.
They also criticised the PPS for “dragging out the case”.
“They never really wanted to prosecute Soldier B for murdering a child,” the Hegarty family said.
“They had to be dragged by us to that position during the course of almost 15 years of painful litigation”.
The BBC has approached the PPS for a response.
In 2011 an inquest jury unanimously found Daniel posed no risk and had been shot without warning.
An initial inquest had been held in 1973 and recorded an open verdict.
The second inquest was ordered by the Northern Ireland attorney general in 2009 after an examination by police detectives in the Historical Enquiries Team.
In 2007 the UK government apologised to the Hegarty family for describing Daniel as a terrorist.
