Gerard Hutch denies murder as trial hears of AK-47 evidence

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Gerard Hutch denies murdering David Byrne at the Special Criminal Court, with ballistics evidence reported on 24 October 2022 linking cartridge cases from the Regency Hotel shooting to three recovered AK-47 rifles. The shooting took place at the hotel in Whitehall, Dublin, on 5 February 2016.

Detective Garda David O’Leary said he matched seven cartridge cases from the hotel to the Romanian rifle, four to the Yugoslavian firearm and one to the Chinese type assault weapon. He said the rifles were designed for 7.62 ammunition, matching the calibre found at the scene.

The rifles had been recovered during a Garda operation in County Meath in March 2016, the report said. Hutch denied the murder charge; the report described the trial as continuing.