Gerard Hutch will not testify as Jason Bonney’s defence begins

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

Gerard Hutch will not give evidence in his defence at the Special Criminal Court trial over the murder of David Byrne. The proceedings were reported on 24 January 2023.

Hutch has pleaded not guilty to murdering Byrne, who was shot dead during a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel on 5 February 2016. Paul Murphy and Jason Bonney have pleaded not guilty to helping a criminal gang commit the murder by providing motor vehicles.

The prosecution closed its case, and Hutch’s counsel Brendan Grehan said his client would not go into evidence. On 23 January, the court had been told that Hutch’s lawyers did not expect to call evidence on his behalf.

The court ruled prosecution Automatic Number Plate Recognition evidence inadmissible. It also rejected a jurisdiction challenge by Murphy’s counsel Bernard Condon, ruling that it could try Murphy. Condon said Murphy would not give evidence and that he would not call defence evidence.

Bonney’s defence began after an adjournment to allow his counsel John Fitzgerald to consult him about a document disclosed by the prosecution. The prosecution alleged Bonney drove a BMW jeep used to take a gunman away from the scene.

Defence witness Julie Mc Glynn said she saw Bonney return to a building site and his father Willie get into the jeep on 5 February 2016. She said she saw Bonney again at around 2.50pm. Under cross-examination, she denied lying about seeing his father drive the jeep.

A second defence witness, Peter Tyrell, said he saw Willie Bonney driving a black jeep shortly after the murder. The trial continued.