Judgment has been reserved at Belfast Crown Court in the case of an Armagh man accused of the murder of an former RUC reservist 15 months ago.
Mr Cyril Stewart (52) was gunned down in front of his wife outside Safeways supermarket in Armagh on March 27th last year. After being shot in the head he fell to the ground when the gunman stood over him and fired again before the two assailants made off. He was shot seven times in the head and body.
Mr Barry Paul Morgan (24), of Banbrook Hill, denies the murder, while a second defendant, Mr Anthony James McElkenny (35), of Gortin Park, Coalisland, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to collect information.
During the trial the court heard evidence that clothing which could be linked to the murder scene and the gunman had been found in a wheelie bin close to Mr Morgan's home. Neither of the defendants chose to give evidence to the court, and no witnesses were called on their behalf.
But in his closing submissions defence counsel for Mr Morgan said that all the evidence was of a circumstancial nature, and each one of the items in itself was weak.
"The one thing all the circumstantial evidence cannot establish is that Morgan was one of the gunmen."
Evidence against Mr McElkenny consisted of a number of comments made during interview. In these, he told police he had driven a third man to the supermarket car-park earlier the same day. The man had told him he was looking for a blue car driven by a policeman, and he had pointed out a number of blue cars, but was told these were not the correct vehicles.
The lawyer for Mr McElkenny submitted the evidence did not prove the defendant had any prior knowledge of an intention to commit murder.