A “vulnerable” Lisburn man was shot in the chest at close range with a sawn-off shotgun in a killing which bore “all the hallmarks of an execution”, a court heard today (Wednesday).
As relatives of Paul Smyth sat in the public gallery of Belfast Crown Court, a Crown barrister said Mr Smyth was gunned down as he sat in the living room of his Coulson Avenue home in the early hours of June 19, 2019.
Three men appeared in court for a plea hearing while a fourth was unable to appear due to Covid.
