A Belfast man who spent six years fighting extradition from Dublin where he lived for 15 years under an assumed name has gone on trial for the murder of a man in Co Tyrone more than two decades ago.
Francis 'Studs' Lanigan (55) denies murdering 22-year-old John Stephen Knocker outside the former Glengannon Hotel near Dungannon on May 31 1998.
He also denies possession of the 9mm Browning pistol used in the shooting.
A prosecution lawyer told Mr Justice Horner, sitting without a jury in the 'Diplock' trial at Belfast Crown Court, that Lanigan could allegedly be connected to the murder by eyewitnesses and DNA profiles.
The judge was also shown CCTV footage from outside the hotel showing a man being repeatedly punched and kicked about the body and head.
It is claimed the man receiving the beating was Lanigan and he shot Mr Knocker twice in the head because he had got the better of him.
"The manner of the killing is consistent with an execution in revenge for the attack upon him moments before. The calm manner in which he behaved thereafter indicate his contempt for the deceased and an apparent willingness to send a message to onlookers," the prosecution lawyer said.
"Upon his own admission in his affidavit, he was present and involved in an incident where in his words, John Knocker lost his life, which really means he was shot in the head."
Mr Justice Horner heard that a post mortem showed Mr Knocker had been shot twice in the head, once on the left by his ear and a second time in the back of the head.
The wound by his ear had debris consistent with the muzzle of the gun being just inches away.
This, claimed the lawyer, was consistent with the evidence of eyewitnesses outside the hotel, which has since been demolished.
One witness claimed that following a fight, Mr Knocker made frantic attempts to get back into the hotel's 'Exit 15' nightclub before running across the car park and onto the Old Eglish Road, followed by a second man in grey clothing.
The next thing he heard was 'four bangs' and the first man fell down.
The lawyer said the witness then saw the second man catch up with him and, kneeling down, "moved the man's head slightly and fired one more shot at that stage".
He said the next thing he was aware of was a blonde woman in a short skirt shouting to onlookers: "Nobody seen nothing".
While she and the gunman escaped in a Vauxhall Cavalier car, those present reportedly began stoning the vehicle as it sped from the scene.
The lawyer said the pistol was later recovered on the road between Crumlin in Co Antrim and Belfast, while the Vauxhall was found abandoned in north Belfast.
Other witnesses reported seeing a blonde woman after the initial altercation in the car park hand the man in grey a weapon.
The same woman who shouted the warning to the crowd allegedly also shouted, "Frankie... Frankie", which the lawyer said was a reference to Lanigan.
Authorities were able to recover blood samples from the scene, including from a wall, gate and stones, and from the hands of Mr Knocker. They also recovered samples from the Cavalier.
Gardaí were later tasked to help find Lanigan, who was suspected to be posing as a barber called Ciaran McCrory in west Dublin.
As part of a covert operation, officers took a coffee cup allegedly used by him from which a DNA profile was obtained.
The trial of Lanigan, with an address at Delhurst Terrace, Clonsilla, west Dublin, continues.