On-the-run accused pleads guilty to murdering dissident republican

Dean Evans, aged 27 and from Dublin, pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to the murder of Peter Butterly, a 35-year-old dissident republican fatally shot outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanstown, County Meath on 6 March 2013. Justice Isobel Kennedy remanded Evans in custody pending sentencing on 31 July, when he received a mandatory life sentence. Evans had absconded before his trial was scheduled to commence in January 2017. A European Arrest Warrant was issued, and he was apprehended in Spain in April 2018 before being surrendered to Irish authorities. Upon his return to Dublin, he was arrested and subsequently arraigned at the Special Criminal Court. Through his legal representatives, Evans expressed remorse and apologised to the Butterly family for the suffering caused by the killing. The victim's widow submitted a statement to the court detailing the trauma inflicted on the family and their three children. The case forms part of a wider investigation into the shooting. Two other men, Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly, were previously convicted and received life sentences for their roles in the murder. Three additional men remained scheduled to proceed to trial on the same charge later in 2018, including Michael McDermott of Ballinagh, County Cavan; Kevin Braney from Dublin; and Frank Murphy of County Meath. Detective Sergeant Liam Archbold provided evidence outlining how gardaí had monitored a silver Toyota vehicle and arrested Evans at the scene immediately following the shooting. The investigation established that the victim was shot multiple times in a carpark while in his vehicle, with witnesses present at the time.