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22nd July 2021
10:40am BST

Arlene Arkinson. Credit: PSNI[/caption]
He told the court: "There is no record of her being alive after that date.
"Robert Howard, a violent sexual offender and the last person to be seen with Arlene in the early hours of August 14 1994, was responsible for her death. The mechanism of death is unknown.
"The court believes the death occurred in this jurisdiction, but the precise location remains unknown. However the court is confident that her remains were secreted in this jurisdiction as Howard was familiar with the area around Castlederg... and time was limited."
He also debunked several rumours and theories around her disappearance and paid tribute to her siblings, who cared for her following her mother's death in 1990, for their "exhaustive" efforts in seeking justice for Arlene.
"It is a matter of profound regret that Arlene did not get to live her life.
"I want to reflect on the grave injustice that has been done to the Arkinson family due to the actions of Robert Howard and I would like to reflect on the exhaustive manner in which Kathleen in particular has driven this case from the first days after the disappearance right through to today, and that is remarkable, and Arlene herself has been served exceptionally well by her family in the intervening years."
Howard was charged with her murder in 2002 but was acquitted in 2005.
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Robert Howard. Credit: Kent Police[/caption]
The jury was not told of his history of violent sexual offences and that he had already been convicted of the 2003 murder and rape of 14-year-old Hannah Williams in London.
At the time of Arlene's disappearance, Howard was on bail for a series of violent sexual offences against a teenage girl. He died in prison in 2015 at the age of 71.