Image copyright Pacemaker A west Belfast man has been found guilty of murdering a prison officer who died 11 days after a bomb exploded under his van in 2016.
Christopher Robinson, 49, from Aspen Walk, had denied killing Adrian Ismay.
The 52-year-old was injured in the explosion close to his home at Hillsborough Drive in east Belfast and died in hospital.
The judge at Belfast Crown Court said Robinson was “intimately and inextricably involved” in the murder.
Robinson was also found guilty of possessing an improvised explosive device.
Speaking after the judge’s ruling on Friday, one of the detectives who investigated the case he hoped the conviction would provide comfort for Mr Ismay’s wife and three children.
“They will be reliving the horror of what happened,” said Det Sup Richard Campbell.
The judge said Robinson was linked to the murder by evidence including his DNA on a Poppy Appeal sticker that was removed from a vehicle containing traces of Semtex.
He also said CCTV footage clearly showed the vehicle – which was registered to Robinson’s sister-in-law – outside Mr Ismay’s home on when the bomb was planted.
The judge added that CCTV at the workplace of Robinson’s brother had been disabled several times by his sibling so he could not be filmed visiting him.
Robinson’s high level of online interest into the treatment of dissident republican prisoners – as well as internet searches about militant republican activity – was further evidence cited by the judge.
Mr Ismay’s family embraced each other as the verdict was read in court.
He had been a prison officer for almost 30 years.
The non-jury trial previously heard that Robinson would have known about his victim’s job from their time volunteering together for St John Ambulance.
In a police interview from hospital just days before his death, Mr Ismay said he and Robinson “never had cross words” and “got on well” during their three to four years volunteering together.
Robinson was remanded into custody and the minimum term he will serve in prison will be determined at a later date.
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