The family of a murdered West Belfast greengrocer have concerns about information which flowed from the community to the police, an inquest has heard.
Harry Holland, 65, was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver in September 2007 as he tried to stop a gang of youths stealing his delivery van outside his home on Norfolk Drive, off the Falls Road.
Relatives of the dead man met former attorney general Baroness Scotland to discuss prison terms handed to three teenagers involved in his murder - but their lawyer Michael Flanigan has said pre-inquest issues did not relate exclusively to sentencing.
He told the Belfast preliminary hearing: “There are a number of concerns relating to the circumstances surrounding the murder of Mr Holland, in relation to the conduct of this particular gang of young persons leading up to the events of that night and the information which flowed from the community to the PSNI.”
It will be Christmas before legal papers surrounding the death of the father-of-four are ready, the inquest heard.
Police are dealing with a “voluminous” file of documents about the committal for trial of those linked to the death, a lawyer for the PSNI said.
In July 2009, Stephen McKee from the Ballymurphy Road was told he must serve at least 12 years of a life sentence for murder. Two other teenagers were also sentenced in connection with the killing.
Senior coroner John Leckey asked why it had taken so long for committal papers to be produced.
PSNI lawyer Ken Boyd said: “It is just a process sir.
“Police did not have the committal papers, they had to go and get them from the Public Prosecution Service who had them in storage so that caused a slight delay and they recovered the papers and started to work on them.”
He said it would be Christmas before the documents would be ready but officers would provide a disc and redacted papers to the coroner.
Mr Flanagan said the family had expected to receive the papers at the start of this year.
Another preliminary hearing will be held in January.