Courts / Dublin / Report

Regency murder accused seeks to have garda interviews ruled inadmissible

Summary

The Special Criminal Court heard submissions in a voir dire regarding the admissibility of garda interviews in the trial of Gerard Hutch, Paul Murphy, and Jason Bonney. All three defendants, who pleaded not guilty to participating in or contributing to the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016, face charges related to providing access to motor vehicles. Defence counsel for Mr. Bonney argued that his initial interview on February 21, 2016, was conducted without a caution, rendering it and the subsequent detention on May 27 inadmissible. Similarly, counsel for Mr. Murphy contended that his February 22 interview should be excluded due to the failure to caution. Prosecuting counsel Sean Gillane SC rebutted these claims, describing the exchanges as non-custodial and voluntary, and argued that the defence had legally overreached by suggesting the lack of caution contaminated all subsequent evidence. The prosecution maintained that ample independent material justified the detentions. The three-judge panel, presided over by Ms Justice Tara Burns, will rule on the admissibility of the interviews on Monday. The trial continues.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Regency murder accused seeks to have garda interviews ruled inadmissible. Charges or matters: participating in or contributing to the murder of Mr Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on February 5, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• February 5, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
• February 21 2016 Other
• May 27, 2016 Incident
• February 21 Incident
• May 27 Hearing Or Sentence
• February 22 Other
• March 3 Incident
• March 9, 2016 Incident
• May 30, 2016 Incident
• 2022-11-08 Publication

Why: Mr Fitzgerald said that part of the grounds to detain Mr Bonney was because he was seen with his jeep "at other locations for which he had not accounted". CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report