Fresh appeals have been launched for witnesses to come forward about the separate deaths of a man and woman in west Belfast during the Troubles. The families of Teresa Carson and William Marchant have been waiting for many years for answers about what happened to their loved ones.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery will distribute posters and organise leaflet drops in areas relating to both investigations. The appeals follow requests from the victims' families for help in finding the truth.
Teresa Carson found dead in 1974
Teresa Carson, 47, was found dead at the side of the Glen Road in the early hours of Sunday November 24 1974. It is understood she had witnessed a robbery at St John's GAC Social Club on Whiterock Road hours before her death.
She was last seen in the grounds of the club at 12.15am getting into a white coloured car. The circumstances surrounding her death have remained unclear for nearly five decades.
William Marchant shot in 1987
William Marchant, 39, who was also known as Billy or Frenchie, was shot outside the Progressive Unionist Party offices on Shankill Road at approximately 3pm on April 28 1987. He later died in hospital from his injuries.
A brown coloured Datsun Bluebird car, registration number YOI 2557, was used in the attack. The vehicle had been hijacked earlier in the day after a family was held at gunpoint overnight at Tullymore Gardens in west Belfast.
Commission seeks vital information
Assistant commissioner Amanda Logan said the families had asked the Commission to help them find out what happened to their loved ones. "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.
"The relatives of Teresa Carson and William Marchant believe that someone may hold vital information that could prove key to the investigations. These families have waited many years for answers and we at the Commission are committed to doing everything we can to support them."
Logan urged anyone with information to come forward, regardless of how insignificant it might seem. "No matter how unimportant your information may seem, what you share could be vital to finding the truth for the families," she said. "All information we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence."
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
