Courts / Dublin / Report

Court would be turning "blind eye" to failure to tell truth if evidence admitted, defence say

Summary

The Special Criminal Court heard a second day of arguments about whether the evidence of a protected witness, David Cullen, could be admitted in the murder trial of Peter Butterly. Butterly, 35, was shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston on 6 March 2013. Cullen, who had been accused of the murder, turned State's witness after more than a year and has implicated his former co‑accused, Edward McGrath (35) and Sharif Kelly (47). Both men pleaded not guilty to the murder, and McGrath also pleaded not guilty to firearms offences. A third accused, Dean Evans (24), failed to appear and has not been located. The court is considering Cullen's testimony as part of a voir‑dire, and the counsel for Kelly argued that admitting it would amount to the court turning a blind eye to numerous failures to convey the truth. The prosecution countered that Cullen's statements were well‑documented and uncontroversial.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Court would be turning "blind eye" to failure to tell truth if evidence admitted, defence say. Charges or matters: the alleged murder; firearms offences on the same occasion. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• March 6th, 2013 Other
• 2017-02-17 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report