Man arrested in connection with 1973 murder of teenager Marian Beattie

A man has been arrested in connection with the 1973 murder of Marian Beattie in Northern Ireland, police have said.

The 18-year-old's body was found at the bottom of a quarry near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone, on Saturday 31 March 1973.

The suspect, aged in his 70s, was arrested this morning and remains in custody, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.

Ms Beattie had gone to a charity dance at Hadden's Garage in Aughnacloy on the Friday to listen to her brother playing in the band.

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The teenager, who had attended the dance with a girlfriend, was last seen leaving the event with a young man just after 1am, walking in the direction of a nearby car park at the top of Hadden's Quarry.

Her body was found at the bottom of the quarry - around 80-100ft below the car park - shortly after 6am on Saturday 31 March.

Police described it at the time as a "vicious and cruel murder, with sadistic overtones".

A fresh appeal for information had been made in March of last year.

Detective Inspector McCrissican, from Legacy Investigation Branch, urged all those with information to come forward in a bid to help give the Beattie family "some closure".

DI Thompson said: "Marian's family deserve to know what happened to her that night."

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