Sectarian killing: Two more arrests

12 April 2012

Another two men have been arrested for questioning about the brutal murder of a Catholic man beaten to death by a sectarian mob.

The arrests brought to 11 the number of men detained over the killing of Kevin McDaid, 49, in Coleraine, Co Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Sunday evening.

Another man injured in the attack was still fighting for his life in hospital as the dead man's widow appealed for no retaliation for his murder.

Mr McDaid, a cross community youth worker, was targeted by a gang of up to 40 men who entered a mainly Catholic housing estate following matches involving Rangers and Celtic. His widow Evelyn, a Protestant, suffered serious head injuries when she tried to save him.

Mrs McDaid said her husband would not want to see any more violence. "He wouldn't want retaliation for it. He wouldn't want my sons to get hurt, he wouldn't want this. He was trying to keep the peace, he didn't want all this - the nonsense that's been going on here for years and years. He wanted peace."

She said the mob also beat up a pregnant woman during the attack.

Mr McDaid, a former plasterer, had three sons and a foster son. His widow said the family's life had been shattered.

Mrs McDaid said the attackers claimed they were from the loyalist paramilitary group the UDA as they beat her and her husband. "He went down to see if his son was all right and he got badly beaten," she told BBC Radio Ulster.

"UDA, they called themselves the UDA. I went across to help him and they beat me while they beat him. And then my neighbour had to step in to save me and she was pregnant and they beat her too and she shouted 'I'm pregnant' and they didn't care."

Damien Fleming, 46, remains in hospital with serious injuries after being assaulted in nearby Pates Lane during the disturbances.

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