A daughter today appealed for information more than 35 years after her mother was stabbed to death in a north Belfast street.
Margaret Hyrkiewic, originally from Bath, was found dead by a taxi driver on waste ground in Adela Street near the Antrim Road in May 1973.
Ms Hyrkiewicz (24), was killed metres from where her boyfriend was shot dead by loyalists days earlier. She had travelled from her home in England to make inquiries about his death, investigators said.
Niki Priddle (45), clutched photos of her mother as she revisited the scene of the murder. She last saw her when she was just 10 years old, at the height of the conflict.
“She was not political, she would give you her last piece of bread, she was just in love with Eddie (Coogan)," she said. “I am coming for closure, for me to say I saw the place she saw with her eyes when she died. I want simply if they know anything to feel a bit guilty and know that they killed a real person.”
She said her “hippy” mother was compared to Brigitte Bardot for her looks and recalled the fateful day she learned the news at her home near Bath. “I came home from school and everyone was crying and I wondered what had gone wrong. The local policeman was there and I thought he had caught us nicking apples,” she added.
She said the impact didn’t sink in for some time, she had not been told the full details, and added it was a boy in school who disclosed that her mother had been stabbed in Northern Ireland.
Ms Priddle, a mother-of-four, said she felt bitter that her mother had been murdered in such a brutal way. “Why couldn’t they have shot her like they shot Eddie?” she added.
The Ulster Defence Association was blamed for killing Mr Coogan. The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) is investigating Ms Hyrkiewicz's death but has no new evidence so far.
Senior investigating officer Mick May said the HET could not be absolutely sure loyalists were involved and added no DNA evidence was ever recovered.
“These people will be in their 50s or 60s, possibly even their 70s,” Mr May said. “If they have any information I would really urge them to come forward.”
PA