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January 30th, 1972 is remembered as one of the most deadly – and consequential – days during three decades of violence in the region.

Within the community where events unfolded – the legacy of Bloody Sunday are visible on the buildings and seared in collective memory.

A civil rights march was held on a chilly yet clear period in Londonderry.

The protest was opposing the policy of internment – holding suspects without trial – which had been established after multiple years of violence.

Troops from the elite army unit fatally wounded multiple civilians in the district – which was, and remains, a overwhelmingly nationalist area.

One image became notably prominent.

Images showed a religious figure, Fr Edward Daly, using a stained with blood white handkerchief in his effort to shield a crowd moving a teenager, Jackie Duddy, who had been mortally injured.

Media personnel captured considerable film on the day.

The archive contains Fr Daly informing a reporter that military personnel "just seemed to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no justification for the gunfire.

The narrative of events was rejected by the initial investigation.

The Widgery Tribunal determined the military had been fired upon initially.

During the peace process, Tony Blair's government established a fresh examination, after campaigning by surviving kin, who said the first investigation had been a inadequate investigation.

In 2010, the findings by Lord Saville said that on balance, the soldiers had initiated shooting and that zero among the individuals had posed any threat.

The contemporary head of state, the leader, apologised in the government chamber – saying deaths were "unjustified and unacceptable."

The police started to look into the matter.

One former paratrooper, referred to as the defendant, was prosecuted for killing.

Accusations were made over the killings of one victim, in his twenties, and twenty-six-year-old another victim.

The defendant was also accused of seeking to harm several people, additional persons, more people, Michael Quinn, and an unidentified individual.

Exists a judicial decision preserving the veteran's anonymity, which his legal team have claimed is necessary because he is at risk of attack.

He testified the investigation that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at persons who were possessing firearms.

This assertion was rejected in the official findings.

Evidence from the inquiry could not be used straightforwardly as proof in the legal proceedings.

In the dock, the defendant was screened from view with a blue curtain.

He addressed the court for the first time in the hearing at a session in December 2024, to reply "innocent" when the accusations were read.

Family members of the victims on the incident journeyed from Londonderry to the courthouse every day of the case.

John Kelly, whose relative was died, said they were aware that hearing the proceedings would be difficult.

"I remember the events in my recollection," the relative said, as we walked around the primary sites mentioned in the case – from the location, where the victim was fatally wounded, to the nearby Glenfada Park, where James Wray and the second person were killed.

"It returns me to my location that day.

"I participated in moving the victim and lay him in the vehicle.

"I went through the entire event during the proceedings.

"But even with enduring everything – it's still meaningful for me."