Man who arranged to meet dissident at murder scene is jailed

Ray Kennedy, aged 40, of Blanchardstown in Dublin, has been sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment at the Special Criminal Court for perverting the course of justice. Kennedy was convicted of destroying a mobile phone SIM card on 6 March 2013, the day dissident republican Peter Butterly was fatally shot in a car park at Gormanston, County Meath. Kennedy had arranged to meet Butterly on the afternoon of the killing and arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting occurred. When gardaí requested he remain for interview, Kennedy removed and disposed of the SIM card while waiting. Prosecutors established that the card held significant evidential value to the murder investigation, and that Kennedy's phone had been in contact with a burner device connected to the killing. At trial, Kennedy contended he had panicked upon encountering gardaí, but Justice Tony Hunt rejected this account as implausible. The judge found instead that Kennedy's actions constituted a calculated and deliberate attempt to obstruct the investigation. Imposing sentence, Justice Hunt set a headline term of four years but suspended two and a half years on humanitarian grounds. The judge took into account Kennedy's previously unblemished character and, significantly, the serious health condition of his young daughter requiring round-the-clock care. Kennedy must enter a good behaviour bond of one hundred euros for two and a half years following his release. Four men have previously received life sentences for Butterly's murder, whilst two others have been convicted and imprisoned for their respective roles in the killing. Kennedy subsequently appealed his conviction, arguing he had been unlawfully detained and should have been cautioned before making admissions concerning the device. The Court of Appeal reserved judgment on those grounds in November 2022.