It later emerged in court hearings that Robb had made disparaging remarks about the killing of UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade leader Richard Jameson by an LVF gunman the previous month.

[1] This had angered the killers, themselves members of the Mid-Ulster UVF, and in retaliation they had lured the two men to the remote lane on the outskirts of town, where they killed and mutilated them.

Dillon committed suicide in January 2005, and Burcombe, originally charged with the killings, turned 'Queen's evidence' by testifying against Brown and therefore received a reduced sentence.

The trial judge, Mr. Justice Gillen, stated that the murders, perpetrated 22 months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, were "among the most gruesome of the past 40 years".

[3] Shortly after Jameson left the club, he returned with a number of UVF men armed with baseball bats and pickaxe handles.

[4] The UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast immediately convened a "war council" at "the Eagle", their headquarters over a chip shop on the Shankill Road, where they discussed plans to avenge Jameson's killing.

[3] At 1:30 a.m. on Saturday 19 February 2000, Protestant acquaintances, Andrew Robb, a 19-year-old unmarried father, and David McIlwaine (known to his friends as "Mackers"), an 18-year-old graphic design student at Lurgan Tech, both of Portadown, had left "The Spot" nightclub in Tandragee together with three others after spending Friday night out.

[5] The club was then being managed by Willie Frazer,[6] well known as a loyalist victims' advocate and political activist, who has since suggested that the killings were linked to a threat posed to him by the UVF.

[6] The group of three men and two women had attempted to enter a taxi, but regulations had stipulated that not more than four passengers could travel together, so Robb and McIlwaine got out of the vehicle and went off in search of a house party.

[2] The atmosphere inside the house suddenly turned ugly when Dillon asked the teenagers what they felt about the LVF killing of UVF Mid-Ulster brigadier Richard Jameson, who had been a successful businessman and was extremely popular in the Portadown area.

[8] Dillon produced a butcher's knife and cut McIlwaine's throat while Brown shouted encouragement and Burcombe overlooked the scene from about five feet away.

According to Burcombe's later testimony, Brown appeared "crazed" as he handed the knife back to Dillon and said he was "buzzing"; he subsequently went on to recount stabbing McIlwaine in the eye.

[8] Several hours later at 9:30 a.m., the mutilated bodies of Robb and McIlwaine were discovered lying in pools of blood on the roadside 100 metres apart from one another by a woman taking her children to dancing lessons.

Ulster Democratic Party representative John White and Johnny Adair, the Ulster Defence Association's (UDA) "C Company" West Belfast Brigade commander both attended Robb's funeral, whereas Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assemblyman Paul Berry and Richard Jameson's brother Bobby attended McIlwaine's.

[9] The LVF leadership, however maintained that the blame for the killings "lies at the door of the Eagle"; a reference to the Brigade Staff headquarters on the Shankill Road.

[18] A year after the killings, Robb's 16-year-old sister Jenna was beaten up by a group of boys belonging to the Young Citizens Volunteers (YCV), the UVF's youth wing, who had followed her as she walked along a Portadown street.

Ten months later, Brown was released on bail after the court was told the prosecution had expressed doubts about their principal witness and the forensic evidence was not sufficient to secure a conviction.

He alleged that the police were protecting the identity of a local Tandragee UVF commander (now deceased), who was reportedly present at the scene of the crime and was working as an agent for RUC Special Branch.

After viewing the programme, Mark Burcombe consulted a clergyman and solicitor, and subsequently presented himself to police outside Hillsborough Castle to give them information regarding the events which took place on 19 February 2000.

[14] He signed an Agreement under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005[22] to receive a reduced sentence in return for giving evidence against his co-defendant.

[2] He went on to add, "they represent unbridled mindless violence and a total disregard for the value and dignity of human life":[2] Brown made an unsuccessful appeal to have his murder conviction overturned on 24 May 2011.