Murder of Michael Green - First Anniversary Appeal
15 Aug 2006
Police have made a renewed appeal for information about the murder of Michael Green who was gunned down as he arrived for work at Gilpins furniture store in the Sandy Row area of South Belfast a year ago today.
Mr Green (42) arrived for work by motorbike at 8.15am, and began to open the gates to the rear yard of the premises. As he was doing so, he was approached by a gunman from the Wellwood Street direction who shot and murdered him at close range.
The gunman then ran along the front of Gilpins to a waiting motorcycle at Boyne Court / Sandy Row junction. The gunman got on the back of the motorcycle and made off along Boyne Court into City Walk. This motorcycle was later found in an entry off the railway footbridge at the rear of houses at Abingdon Drive.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Raymond Ramsey, said it was a vicious and brutal murder of an innocent man during the loyalist feud, which had left a family devastated, and it was vital for society that those responsible were brought to justice.
DCI Ramsey said: “One year on, police remain totally committed to bringing the killers before the courts but we need the public’s assistance to do this. Mr Green was murdered in broad daylight on a busy street. There were a lot of people in the area at the time, and while the response from the public has been good, we know that there are still people out there who have information which could assist us with our inquiries.”
In particular, detectives have appealed for the following people to come forward:
- Anyone who has any information about the movements of the motorcycle, a small red 125CC Hartford, believed to have been used in the murder, in the days or hours prior to the murder.
- Anyone who saw two men on the motorcycle leave the area after the shooting via Boyne Court into City Walk, abandoning the motorcycle at the railway footbridge at the rear of Abingdon Drive. The pillion passenger on the bike was not wearing a helmet.
- Anyone who was in the Sandy Row area on the Monday morning of 15 August last year from 7.30am and saw a motorcyclist parked in the Scott Street area or who observed a man standing beside the hoarding at Wellwood Street prior to the murder.
- Anyone who witnessed the murder of Mr Green.
Callers can speak directly to detectives at the Incident Room on 028 9070 0305 or 0845 600 8000 or they can give information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
