Fearing for her safety and the safety of her family, Nelson went to the RUC looking for protection. Her cries for help were denied. Nelson then went to many people with reports of threats against her life and her subsequent requests for protection ” including Burke with whom she met in Lurgan at a March 1998 dinner, and other delegates from the Lawyers Alliance for Justice in Ireland. After many requests to the authorities (RUC) for protection, she was murdered outside her home in March 1999 by a car bomb. The Rosemary Nelson Murder Inquiry”s main objective is to determine if British authorities, particularly the RUC, had involvement with the murder or protected those involved.Burke did testified in Belfast Thursday the 22nd of May. Here are a few of his thoughts upon returning to Denver. (To read Burkes full testimony go to www.rosemarynelsoninquiry.org – Click on “transcripts” and go to May 22, his testimony is the second that day).”The big thing I thought was very impressive was the people that I had never met nor knew about, who had very similar testimony to mine ” about the death threats that had been made and the attempts to get help for her (Nelson)…one of them was a peer (British) Sir Lewis Blom Cooper, he started off by giving testimony that seemed favorable to the British, but then as he got into it he talked about all of his contact with her and how terrible the situation was for her (Nelson)””They”re (British) trying to show that she was a publicity hound ” and having an affair with a client ” which was just ridicules.” Burke went on to give reasons why everyone who knew Rosemary Nelson believed it was ridicules, including her high ethics as a wife and local lawyer and the small town environment (no secrets). Burke implied that it was common belief these were fabricated rumors put out by the RUC after her death as a diversion and/or to further discredit Nelson. “One person that was on the witness stand was a person who worked in Nelson”s office ” she was asked, “Have you heard anything about an affair between Mrs. Nelson and Colin Duffy?” and she said, “Yes I have…I saw it in a newspaper after she was dead and I didn”t believe it.””The lawyer (Barry Philips) for the inquiry ” called a Barrister ” was the only one permitted to ask questions. Burke thought that the Barrister was generally reasonable in his line of questioning ” with the exception of some argumentative questions that were emailed to him from a solicitor named Donaldson who represented the RUC/PSNI.Burke believes that the Inquiry will go into 2009. He will give periodic updates to the Celtic Connection and the results of the Inquiry.