Courts / Dublin / Report

Bloodstain found on button of jacket belonging to accused, murder trial hears

Date
2015-03-11

Stage
Trial

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

During a murder trial, a forensic scientist reported that a button on a black pin‑striped velvet jacket belonging to accused Mark Nash had a bloodstain, but the stain was too small for testing. Nash, 42, pleaded not guilty to the murders of Sylvia Shields, 60, and Mary Callanan, 61, which occurred between 6 and 7 March 1997 at a sheltered accommodation in Grangegorman. The jacket was worn by Nash on the night of 6 March 1997 while attending a charity quiz at the GPO. The scientist examined the jacket visually and with a low‑powered microscope, noting a bloodstain on the lowest button near a stitch hole. No other blood or hair matching Nash was found on the jacket, and no trace evidence linked the jacket to the crime scene. The trial continues.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Bloodstain found on button of jacket belonging to accused, murder trial hears. Charges or matters: the murder of Sylvia Shields (60) and Mary Callanan (61) between March 6 and March 7, 1997; the murder of Mary Callanan on July 27 1997. Procedural stage: trial

When:

March 6 Hearing Or Sentence
March 7, 1997 Hearing Or Sentence
Thursday March 6, 1997 Hearing Or Sentence
July 2009 Hearing Or Sentence
March 8 Hearing Or Sentence
July 1997 Hearing Or Sentence
July 27 1997 Other
April 1998 Other
September 10 1998 Hearing Or Sentence
March 6 1997 Hearing Or Sentence
2015-03-11 Publication

Case subjects

Mark Nash

Accused

Charges: the murder of Sylvia Shields (60) and Mary Callanan (61) between March 6 and March 7, 1997; the murder of Mary Callanan on July 27 1997 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty