Lenny Murphy | |
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![]() Murphy in 1982 | |
Born | Hugh Leonard Thompson Murphy 2 March 1952 |
Died | 16 November 1982 (aged 30) Forthriver Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Cause of death | Multiple gunshot wounds |
Other names | Lenny Murphy |
Known for | Leader of Shankill Butchers Ulster Volunteer Force officer |
Hugh Leonard Thompson Murphy (2 March 1952 – 16 November 1982) was a Northern Irish loyalist and UVF officer. As leader of the Shankill Butchers gang, Murphy was responsible for the murders of mainly Catholic civilians, often first kidnapping and torturing his victims. Due to a lack of evidence, Murphy was never brought to trial for these killings, for which some of his followers had already received long sentences in 1979. In the summer of 1982, Murphy was released just over half-way through a 12-year sentence for other offences. He returned to the Shankill Road, where he embarked on a murder spree.
Details of his movements were apparently passed by rival loyalist paramilitaries[1] to the Provisional IRA, who shot Murphy dead that autumn.