Man who arranged to meet dissident on day he was murdered is found guilty of disrupting investigation

Ray Kennedy, aged 41, from Blanchardstown in Dublin, has been convicted at the Special Criminal Court of perverting the course of justice in connection with the 2013 murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly at Gormanston, County Meath. Kennedy was found guilty of destroying a mobile phone SIM card on 6 March 2013, the day Butterly was fatally shot in a car park at the Huntsman Inn. Kennedy had arranged to meet Butterly that afternoon and arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting occurred. Evidence presented to the court established that Kennedy's phone had been in contact with a burner phone connected to the murder inquiry. The destroyed SIM card was deemed of significant evidential value to gardaí investigating the killing. When approached by gardaí at the scene, Kennedy was requested to remain for interview. While waiting, he removed and disposed of the SIM card. Kennedy subsequently claimed he had panicked upon being approached by officers, but the presiding judge rejected this account as lacking credibility. The court found instead that Kennedy's actions represented a calculated attempt to obstruct the garda investigation and conceal his involvement in the incident. Four men have previously received life sentences for Butterly's murder, with two others convicted and imprisoned for their respective roles in the killing. Kennedy's conviction adds to the series of prosecutions arising from the investigation into the dissident republican's death. The case proceeded through the Special Criminal Court, where Kennedy initially pleaded not guilty to the charge. His trial attracted significant attention given the context of the underlying murder investigation and the nature of the alleged obstruction. Kennedy was remanded in custody pending sentencing, which was subsequently scheduled for June 2021.