The Court of Appeal has upheld the murder convictions of Stephen Tynan and Raymond Fitzgerald over the 2015 killing of Andrew Guerrine near Rathcoole, Co Dublin.
Mr Guerrine’s body was found on Steelstown Lane at about 2.30am on May 23, 2015. He had been stabbed more than 20 times. Tynan, his first cousin, and Fitzgerald were convicted of murder following a trial in November 2018. The prosecution case was circumstantial and alleged that the two men acted together.
Evidence included the movements of a Peugeot 307 bought by Tynan shortly before the killing. CCTV later showed both appellants with the car at a petrol station, where Fitzgerald was seen wiping its surfaces. The vehicle was subsequently found burnt out in Tallaght.
The appeal court rejected Tynan’s argument that the trial judge had failed adequately to explain a route to an alternative verdict of assisting an offender. It held that the jury had repeatedly been told that this alternative was available to both accused.
Both men also challenged the judge’s answer to a jury question about joint enterprise. The Court of Appeal held that the direction made clear that knowledge alone was not enough: criminal liability depended on an agreement to participate in a joint enterprise and acts carried out in furtherance of it.
Fitzgerald separately challenged CCTV and automatic number plate recognition evidence. The court held that gathering CCTV during a murder investigation was proportionate and that people generally have no reasonable expectation that their movements in public places will not be recorded. It also found sufficient evidence that the number-plate system was authentic and reliable enough to go before the jury.
His voluntary statement to gardaí was also admissible. He was not under arrest or in custody when he gave it at home, and the court found no requirement that he first be cautioned or offered legal advice.
The court further upheld the refusal to withdraw the murder charge from the jury and rejected the complaint that the indictment was too vague. With every remaining ground unsuccessful, both conviction appeals were dismissed.