AN investigation into the “merciless” murder of 23-year-old Lorraine McCausland has been reopened.
The Protestant mother of two was "savagely beaten" and her body dumped beside a stream in the Forthriver area after a night out in a loyalist club in north Belfast.
Ms McCausland, from Forthriver Crescent in the Glencairn area, was last seen alive at the UDA-run venue in the Tyndale area of Ballysillan on Saturday March 7 1987. Her partially clothed body was found on open ground in the early hours of the following day.
Detectives from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch said today that a case review had identified "potential new lines of enquiry". Police believe the shop assistant had been raped inside the loyalist club and "savagely beaten" both inside and outside the building.
Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin said the "shadow of loyalist paramilitarism hangs over this case" and that members of the UDA were suspected in the young mother's murder.
Despite 14 arrests and over 100 witness statements, no one has ever been charged with the murder.
The new probe follows a previous investigation by the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team, which looked into claims the main UDA suspect at the time was later recruited as a police informer.
Announcing the new investigation, DI Griffin said: “This was a merciless beating of a vulnerable young woman. It has had a profound effect on her family.”
Ms McCausland was a popular young woman who had worked in her sister's mobile shop, the senior officer said.
"Everybody in the area knew Lorraine and liked her for her personality and kindness," she added.
Police will be distributing leaflets in Ballysillan and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
“It’s a long time ago but I’m sure everyone who was there still carries those memories. They will probably never leave them," DI Griffin said.
“I want them to think about what happened that night: the brutal rape and subsequent murder of a defenceless, vulnerable young woman.”
DI Griffin continued: “I believe people have been reluctant to tell the truth about that night, what they saw and heard, what they know, because they are frightened.
“I understand their fear but I believe there are ways of dealing with this and providing a mechanism to enable people to come forward and tell us what they know about the events of that night.”
DI Griffin said members of the UDA were suspected in the young mother's murder and that some of those who were in the loyalist social club that night no longer lived in Northern Ireland.
The senior detective said the latest technology was being used to examine DNA evidence linked to the case.
Ms McCausland's sister, Cathy McIlvenny, asked for those with information to examine their consciences.
"This devastated the whole family," she said.
"I would like to thank the PSNI at the minute because this investigation has given us hope that we haven't had over the past 29 years."
She added: "Remember this was not a paramilitary or a Troubles-related murder - this was a sexual attack and beating."
DI Griffin said police wanted to see “justice” for the victim’s family, who suffered a second loss at the hands of loyalists when, in 2005, Ms McCausland's 20-year-old son Craig was gunned down at his north Belfast home at the height of a UVF/LVF feud.
