Robert Seymour | |
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Born | c. 1955 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Died | 15 June 1988 (aged 32–33) Woodstock Road, East Belfast |
Nationality | British |
Other names | "Squeak" "Bobby Blood" |
Occupation | Video shop proprietor |
Known for | Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) East Belfast commander |
Robert Seymour (c. 1955 – 15 June 1988) was a Northern Irish loyalist from Belfast who was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). He served as the paramilitary organisation's East Belfast commander before being shot dead by the Provisional IRA behind his video shop in that part of the city in June 1988. His killing was claimed to be in retaliation for the UVF bombing of a nationalist pub in which three Catholics died.
In 1983, Seymour was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1981 murder of leading IRA member James "Skipper" Burns. Seymour cycled to Burns' home in Rodney Parade, off the Donegall Road, and shot him as he lay sleeping beside his girlfriend. Seymour's conviction was overturned in the Appeal Court after the judge found the testimony of supergrass Joe Bennett "unbelievable".
Until 2011, Seymour's image featured on a large mural painted on a gable in Ballymacarrett Road, East Belfast.