Fresh appeal for information over couple killed in car bomb in 1990

By Rebecca Black, Press Association

A fresh appeal for information has been made over the killing of a former police officer and his wife by a car bomb in 1990.

James Sefton, 65, and his wife, Ellen, 66, were killed when a booby trap device exploded under their car in Belfast.

It happened on Wednesday, June 6th, after the couple had left their home on Lyndhurst Gardens and driven towards Belfast city centre.

At approximately 10am, as they passed the old Forth River Primary School on Ballygomartin Road, the bomb exploded beneath their car.

Mr Sefton, who was driving, was fatally injured and died in the Mater Hospital.

Mrs Sefton was critically injured and transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital. She died the following day.

The new appeal for information has been made by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) which is probing the murders at the request of the Sefton family.

Assistant commissioner Amanda Logan, who is leading the commission’s investigations team, said the family is seeking the truth around what happened.

She said even the smallest detail could help.

“It’s over 35 years since James and Ellen were killed,” she said.

“Their family is seeking the truth about what happened and we believe there is someone out there who may hold the vital piece of information that could make a difference to the investigation.

“Even the smallest detail could help us understand what happened and why.”

Ms Logan added that the suffering of the Sefton family was “representative of the pain of so many victims, survivors and families”.

“People are still suffering, deprived of information and with no accountability,” she said.

“Our job at the commission is to try to deliver answers for people who have been searching for them for decades.”

The witness appeal will involve distributing posters and an organised leaflet drop in the areas relating to the investigation.