Courts / Ireland / Report

Laptop in accused's home used to search ferry times before killing

Summary

The Central Criminal Court trial of Paul Wells Senior, 50, of Barnamore Park, Finglas, heard evidence regarding a laptop seized from his home. Wells has admitted shooting dead Kenneth O'Brien and dismembering his body but pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of the 33-year-old at his home on 15th or 16th January 2016. Wells claims O'Brien brought a gun to his house to kill O'Brien's partner, leading to a scuffle where Wells allegedly shot O'Brien in the head before disposing of the remains in the Grand Canal. A cyber crime expert testified that the laptop, which had a user profile named 'Paul', was used to search for Irish Ferries timetables around 4pm on 15th January 2016. The searches included routes from Rosslare to Cherbourg and Dublin to Holyhead. Additionally, evidence indicated that the CCTV system in the home shared by O'Brien, his partner, and child stopped recording at 4.32am on 13th January, with only a brief recording on 14th January. The prosecution case is expected to close tomorrow morning, and the trial continues.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Laptop in accused's home used to search ferry times before killing. Charges or matters: murdering the 33-year-old at his home in Barnamore Park on 15th or 16th January, 2016. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• 16th January Other
• 18th January Other
• 15th January Other
• 7th January Incident
• 13th January Incident
• 14th January Incident
• 2018-10-31 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report