The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) in Northern Ireland has appealed for witnesses to come forward in relation to two investigations following requests from the victims’ families.
They relate to the deaths of two people in Belfast in the 1970s and 1980s.
Teresa Carson, 47, was found dead at the side of the Glen Road in November 1974.
William Marchant, 39, was shot on the Shankill Road in April 1987 and later died in hospital.
In both cases, their families went to the Commission seeking the truth about what happened.
Ms Carson was found dead at 12.40am on Sunday, 24 November 1974, at the side of the Glen Road close to the junction with the Shaw’s Road.
It is thought that she attended St John’s GAC Social Club on the Whiterock Road and that she was a witness to a robbery at the club.
She was last seen in the grounds of the club at 12.15am that morning getting into a white coloured car.
William Marchant, known to his family as Billy and more widely as Frenchie, was shot outside the PUP offices on the Shankill Road at approximately 3pm on Tuesday, 28 April 1987.
William Marchant was shot on the Shankill Road in April 1987
He later died at the Mater Hospital.
A brown, Datsun Bluebird car, registration number YOI 2557, was used in the attack.
The car had been hijacked earlier in the day after a family was held at gunpoint overnight in Tullymore Gardens in west Belfast.
It is thought that the car was driven away from the scene on the Shankill Road via Bellevue Street, and was found on fire later that evening on Springfield Avenue.
ICRIR Assistant Commissioner Amanda Logan is leading the Investigations team and is urging anyone with information to come forward to help the families involved.
“Today our thoughts are very much with the families of Teresa Carson and William Marchant. They have come to the Commission and asked us to help them find out what happened to their loved one.
“We have always underlined the Commission’s unwavering commitment to helping families find the unvarnished truth and this is at the centre of our witness appeals,” she said.
Relatives believe ‘someone may hold vital information’
“The relatives of Teresa Carson and William Marchant believe that someone may hold vital information that could prove key to the investigations.”
She added :”These families have waited many years for answers and we at the Commission are committed to doing everything we can to support them. If members of the public have any information about either of these cases, please come forward.
“No matter how unimportant your information may seem, what you share could be vital to finding the truth for the families. All information we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence.”
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery is the central plank of the UK government’s controversial Act to deal with the legacy of the troubles.
Read more: NI Secretary to meet political parties over legacy legislation
The Commission was established by the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Act) 2023 and in operation since last year.
It has the remit to investigate hundreds of unresolved legacy deaths and cases of serious harm which happened before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.