Man cleared of killing Birmingham soldier Mark Quinsey claimed police tried to frame him

Jan 22 2012 by Ben Goldby, Sunday Mercury

THE man cleared of murdering Midland soldier Mark Quinsey last night claimed cops had tried to frame him.

Colin Duffy, 44, said the charges against him were “spurious” and alleged his DNA was planted on a glove found in a getaway car.

He spoke out after his co-accused, Brian Shivers, was convicted on Friday of murdering Sapper Quinsey, from Birmingham, and another trooper outside Massereene Army Barracks in Antrim, Northern Ireland, in March 2009.

At a press conference in Belfast yesterday, Mr Duffy poured scorn on the police’s case against him.

His acquittal was the third time in the past two decades that he has walked free after being charged with murdering members of the security forces.

“I am firmly of the view that my DNA arose there (in the getaway car) because it was planted. I was never in that car,” he said.

“I state quite categorically that I had no involvement in what happened at Massereene, no involvement whatsoever, and that was vindicated in court because there was no credible evidence to suggest otherwise.”

Mr Duffy refused to condemn dissident Republicans, and said that, if being a dissident meant opposing Sinn Fein’s peace strategy, he was happy to classify himself as one.