Aaron Brady pleads not guilty to capital murder

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Aaron Brady has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe and to robbing approximately €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques. The proceedings were reported on 19 February 2020. The charges relate to events at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth, on 25 January 2013.

The Central Criminal Court heard evidence about messages Brady sent to his then girlfriend, Jessica King, on 25 January 2013. Detective Inspector Mark Phillips said a deleted message, sent at 7.54pm, was retrieved from her phone. In it, Brady said he had to load a lorry and that it would take an hour or two. Phillips said King understood him to mean he was working in the diesel yard.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Michael O’Higgins SC, it emerged that the PSNI had not searched the south Armagh yard where Brady said he was loading waste from laundered diesel at the time of the shooting. Phillips agreed that a search might have found evidence tending to suggest Brady was telling some truth, or might have found no such evidence. He said the information had been checked out.

Phillips also agreed there were discrepancies between the messages and Brady’s account to gardaí in February 2013 that he had been in the yard for only ten to 15 minutes. The trial was continuing before Justice White and a jury, who were asked to return the following day.