Neil Reilly murder trial hears evidence he was run over

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

The prosecution had finished presenting evidence in the trial of Paul Bradley and his sons Jason Bradley, Dean Bradley and Ryan Bradley over the death of Neil Reilly at Esker Glebe in Lucan, Dublin, on 18 January 2017. The proceedings were reported on 4 July 2018.

All four have pleaded not guilty to murder. The prosecution alleged that Mr Reilly fired two shots at the Bradley home shortly before 4am, prompting a chase that ended with him being beaten to death and run over by a car.

A pathologist told the trial that Mr Reilly had chop wounds to his head, torso and limbs, and crush injuries consistent with being run over. Garda Mark Rowntree said a text sent by Paul Bradley at 1.32am on 19 January 2017 read: “I ran after him with his gun, I got him with no gun.” The garda agreed with Paul Bradley’s counsel that his client had sought advice in 2016 about a son’s involvement in drug dealing, which greatly concerned him, and that he was a hard-working, decent man.

Detective Sergeant Damien Gannon said gardaí searched for a large knife or implement that could have caused the injuries but found nothing matching what they sought. Dean Bradley’s counsel said his client accepted driving a BMW that struck Mr Reilly, who he said was already on the ground and went under the car.

Paul Bradley’s counsel said his client accepted driving a Mercedes jeep that followed Mr Reilly’s Mazda and crashed into it after the Mazda crashed. He said Paul Bradley then got out and kicked Mr Reilly, who was involved in an altercation with Jason Bradley.

Defence barristers said none of the accused intended to call evidence. Justice Paul Coffey told the jury to return the following day.