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January 30th, 1972 is remembered as among the most fatal – and momentous – occasions throughout thirty years of violence in this area.

In the streets where events unfolded – the images of Bloody Sunday are painted on the walls and embedded in public consciousness.

A public gathering was held on a chilly yet clear afternoon in Londonderry.

The demonstration was challenging the system of imprisonment without charges – holding suspects without legal proceedings – which had been put in place following multiple years of violence.

Soldiers from the specialized division shot dead multiple civilians in the neighborhood – which was, and remains, a predominantly republican community.

A specific visual became especially prominent.

Pictures showed a clergyman, Father Daly, using a bloodied fabric in his effort to shield a assembly moving a teenager, the injured teenager, who had been mortally injured.

News camera operators captured considerable film on the day.

Historical records contains Fr Daly informing a journalist that soldiers "gave the impression they would shoot indiscriminately" and he was "completely sure" that there was no reason for the shooting.

That version of what happened wasn't accepted by the original examination.

The Widgery Tribunal determined the soldiers had been attacked first.

In the resolution efforts, Tony Blair's government established a new investigation, following pressure by surviving kin, who said the first investigation had been a cover-up.

That year, the conclusion by the inquiry said that on balance, the soldiers had fired first and that not one of the casualties had been armed.

The then Prime Minister, David Cameron, expressed regret in the House of Commons – saying fatalities were "improper and inexcusable."

The police began to examine the events.

One former paratrooper, known as the accused, was charged for murder.

He was charged regarding the killings of the first individual, twenty-two, and twenty-six-year-old William McKinney.

The defendant was additionally charged of trying to kill Patrick O'Donnell, other civilians, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn, and an unidentified individual.

Exists a legal order maintaining the veteran's identity protection, which his attorneys have argued is required because he is at risk of attack.

He stated to the examination that he had solely shot at people who were armed.

That claim was dismissed in the concluding document.

Evidence from the inquiry would not be used straightforwardly as evidence in the court case.

In the dock, the accused was hidden from public using a privacy screen.

He spoke for the initial occasion in the hearing at a session in late 2024, to answer "innocent" when the allegations were put to him.

Relatives of those who were killed on the incident journeyed from the city to Belfast Crown Court each day of the trial.

One relative, whose brother Michael was died, said they understood that listening to the trial would be difficult.

"I can see the events in my memory," he said, as we visited the main locations referenced in the trial – from the location, where the victim was fatally wounded, to the adjacent the courtyard, where the individual and William McKinney were fatally wounded.

"It even takes me back to my location that day.

"I helped to carry Michael and place him in the ambulance.

"I experienced again every moment during the evidence.

"Despite enduring all that – it's still valuable for me."