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January 30th, 1972 stands as arguably the deadliest – and consequential – occasions during thirty years of unrest in Northern Ireland.

In the streets of the incident – the legacy of that fateful day are displayed on the buildings and seared in people's minds.

A civil rights march was organized on a cold but bright day in Londonderry.

The march was a protest against the practice of detention without trial – holding suspects without legal proceedings – which had been established following multiple years of violence.

Troops from the specialized division shot dead thirteen individuals in the Bogside area – which was, and continues to be, a strongly Irish nationalist area.

A specific visual became notably memorable.

Photographs showed a clergyman, Father Daly, displaying a bloodied white handkerchief in his effort to protect a crowd moving a teenager, the injured teenager, who had been mortally injured.

Media personnel recorded much footage on the day.

Documented accounts features Father Daly telling a media representative that soldiers "appeared to fire in all directions" and he was "totally convinced" that there was no reason for the gunfire.

The narrative of events was disputed by the initial investigation.

The first investigation determined the Army had been fired upon initially.

Throughout the peace process, Tony Blair's government set up another inquiry, after campaigning by bereaved relatives, who said the initial inquiry had been a inadequate investigation.

During 2010, the report by Lord Saville said that on balance, the soldiers had initiated shooting and that not one of the casualties had posed any threat.

The then government leader, the Prime Minister, issued an apology in the government chamber – stating deaths were "without justification and unacceptable."

The police commenced examine the incident.

A military veteran, identified as the defendant, was charged for killing.

He was charged concerning the deaths of one victim, in his twenties, and twenty-six-year-old William McKinney.

The accused was further implicated of seeking to harm Patrick O'Donnell, additional persons, more people, another person, and an unknown person.

Exists a judicial decision protecting the veteran's anonymity, which his lawyers have argued is required because he is at danger.

He told the examination that he had only fired at individuals who were possessing firearms.

This assertion was dismissed in the final report.

Information from the inquiry could not be used immediately as proof in the court case.

In court, the veteran was shielded from sight using a protective barrier.

He made statements for the first time in the proceedings at a hearing in December 2024, to respond "not responsible" when the charges were read.

Kin of the deceased on that day travelled from the city to the judicial building every day of the proceedings.

One relative, whose sibling was fatally wounded, said they always knew that listening to the proceedings would be emotional.

"I remember everything in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we examined the primary sites discussed in the trial – from Rossville Street, where the victim was shot dead, to the adjacent Glenfada Park, where one victim and the second person were killed.

"It reminds me to my location that day.

"I helped to carry the victim and put him in the ambulance.

"I relived every moment during the proceedings.

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