Jason O'Driscoll denies murder charges as trial hears evidence

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

Jason O'Driscoll has pleaded not guilty to murdering Anthony Burnett and Joseph Redmond in Co Louth on 7 March 2012. The proceedings were reported on 22 November 2017.

At the Central Criminal Court, Dr John O’Shaughnessy said partly evaporated petrol vapour was found in fire debris taken during the postmortem examination of one body. He said it was also found in a sample from beneath the burned car.

Dr Thomas Hanigan said he found no particles characteristic of firearms residue on mats from an abandoned silver Mercedes, which the prosecution said was the getaway vehicle. He found particles consistent with firearm discharge, but explained that such particles could come from other sources. He said the findings provided weak support for the suggestion that the shooter travelled in the Mercedes after the shooting; under defence cross-examination, he agreed that weak support was at the bottom of his scale.

The trial was continuing before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury.