'The Plan': how two lovers came to throw a pensioner's body off Ireland's tallest cliffs

At the Central Criminal Court, Alan Vial and Nikita Burns have been convicted of the murder of Robert Wilkin, a 66-year-old man whose body was disposed of at Sliabh Liag in County Donegal in June 2023. Following an altercation on the Roshine Road near Killybegs, the accused struck Mr Wilkin with a rock before transporting his body to the clifftop and casting it into the Atlantic Ocean. The pair subsequently stole approximately one thousand euro from the deceased's wallet and fabricated an account claiming self-defence. During trial at the Central Criminal Court, Vial gave evidence in his own defence but the jury rejected his testimony, which contradicted earlier statements to gardaí and conflicted with pathological findings. Dr Margaret Bolster's evidence indicated Mr Wilkin would have taken fifteen to twenty minutes to die from his injuries, undermining claims of instantaneous death. The jury convicted both accused following the unravelling of their false narrative regarding the circumstances surrounding Mr Wilkin's death.