The Court of Appeal has upheld Greg Crawford's conviction for the murder of Gareth Brosnan Grant, who was shot at St Ita's Street in St Mary's Park, Limerick, in October 2007.
Crawford was unanimously convicted in the Central Criminal Court on 9 March 2012. The prosecution case included eyewitness and recognition evidence, CCTV, forensic material and evidence concerning the handgun used in the shooting.
Shortly before the shooting, Gareth's brother David Grant said he saw Crawford near the junction of St Ita's Street and St Colmcille Street. After hearing the shot, Gareth's partner Claire Ronan went outside and testified that she saw Crawford near her partner's body before he ran away. She also identified Crawford to Garda Sergeant Gerry Cleary shortly afterwards.
A handgun was found the next morning in the rear garden of Crawford's grandparents' home at 97 St Ita's Street. Ballistics evidence linked the weapon to the bullet recovered from the deceased. DNA matching Crawford's profile was found inside gloves located with or near the gun, although the court noted evidence that secondary DNA transfer was possible.
Crawford challenged four aspects of his trial. The Court of Appeal held there was abundant evidence to justify leaving the murder charge to the jury. It also rejected a complaint that the trial judge failed to summarise forensic scientist Liam Fleury's evidence, finding that evidence of limited significance.
The court further rejected a challenge to the search evidence. It held that the weapon was recovered after the grandparents' property had been designated a crime scene and noted evidence of implied consent to Garda entry.
The principal appeal ground concerned the warning given to jurors about possible mistakes in eyewitness identification. The Court of Appeal held that such warnings must be tailored to each case but found the judge's directions adequate here, particularly because the defence case focused largely on whether Claire Ronan had made a timely identification at all rather than on conditions making a genuine identification unreliable.
The appeal was dismissed.