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Garda Asst Comm would 'absolutely not' have approved destruction of records had they been required, Regency trial hears

Summary

The Special Criminal Court heard evidence regarding the recovery of tracker data from a vehicle driven by Jonathan Dowdall, who pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of David Byrne and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. Co-accused Gerard Hutch, who also pleaded guilty to the same charge, and defendants Paul Murphy and Jason Bonney, who pleaded not guilty, remain part of the ongoing proceedings. The court learned that Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau recovered a working copy of destroyed tracker records from a computer slated for disposal. Assistant Commissioner Orla McPartlin testified she would not have authorised the destruction had she known the data was required for the trial and has since initiated a review of retention policies. Retired Detective Inspector Ciaran Hoey, who authorised the destruction, stated he did not believe the records were pertinent to the prosecution. The defence, representing Hutch, argued that the destruction of evidence was a significant issue. Additionally, the court heard that tracker records confirm Dowdall's vehicle was in Northern Ireland for eight hours on March 7, 2016, during the period of audio recordings. The defence intends to argue for the exclusion of this evidence based on extraterritoriality. The matter was adjourned to allow the court to listen to the ten hours of recorded conversations and to continue cross-examination of witnesses.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Garda Asst Comm would 'absolutely not' have approved destruction of records had they been required, Regency trial hears. Charges or matters: Mr Byrne's murder; participating in or contributing to the murder of David Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on February 5, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• February 7 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 23 Other
• November 16 Other
• November 19 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 7, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
• February 20 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 7 Other
• February 5, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
• January 18 Hearing Or Sentence
• February 20, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-11-21 Publication

Why: Data records older than three years that were not required for prosecution or appeal were destroyed in order to improve storage and the security of data, he said. Prosecution account reported by CNI

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report