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

Within the community where it happened – the images of the tragic events are painted on the buildings and seared in collective memory.

A civil rights march was organized on a cold but bright afternoon in Derry.

The demonstration was opposing the practice of imprisonment without charges – detaining individuals without due process – which had been implemented following multiple years of violence.

Soldiers from the Parachute Regiment fatally wounded 13 people in the neighborhood – which was, and still is, a strongly nationalist community.

A specific visual became particularly iconic.

Photographs showed a clergyman, the priest, displaying a blood-stained cloth in his effort to defend a crowd moving a teenager, Jackie Duddy, who had been fatally wounded.

News camera operators recorded considerable film on the day.

Historical records contains Father Daly informing a journalist that troops "appeared to fire in all directions" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no provocation for the shooting.

This account of what happened was rejected by the initial investigation.

The initial inquiry determined the Army had been attacked first.

During the peace process, the ruling party established another inquiry, after campaigning by surviving kin, who said the first investigation had been a cover-up.

During 2010, the findings by Lord Saville said that on balance, the military personnel had fired first and that not one of the victims had presented danger.

The then government leader, the Prime Minister, issued an apology in the government chamber – stating fatalities were "improper and inexcusable."

Law enforcement started to look into the events.

An ex-soldier, identified as the accused, was charged for murder.

Indictments were filed regarding the deaths of the first individual, 22, and twenty-six-year-old the second individual.

Soldier F was additionally charged of trying to kill multiple individuals, other civilians, further individuals, another person, and an unidentified individual.

Remains a court ruling protecting the veteran's identity protection, which his attorneys have maintained is essential because he is at threat.

He stated to the investigation that he had exclusively discharged his weapon at individuals who were possessing firearms.

This assertion was disputed in the final report.

Material from the investigation could not be used straightforwardly as testimony in the legal proceedings.

In court, the accused was screened from view behind a privacy screen.

He made statements for the first time in court at a session in December 2024, to respond "not guilty" when the accusations were presented.

Relatives of the victims on the incident made the trip from Londonderry to the judicial building daily of the trial.

John Kelly, whose sibling was died, said they always knew that attending the trial would be painful.

"I visualize the events in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we visited the primary sites referenced in the case – from Rossville Street, where the victim was fatally wounded, to the adjacent the courtyard, where the individual and William McKinney were died.

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

"I assisted with my brother and put him in the vehicle.

"I went through the entire event during the testimony.

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