Paul Wells snr pleads not guilty to Kenneth O’Brien murder

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

Paul Wells snr pleaded not guilty to murdering Kenneth O’Brien at the Central Criminal Court on 10 October 2018, with the trial opening that day. O’Brien was allegedly killed at Wells’s home before his body was dismembered and parts were found in a canal in Co Kildare.

The prosecution said O’Brien stopped replying to his partner’s messages before texts were sent from an unknown number, appearing to suggest he had left her. His torso was identified through DNA, while his limbs and skull were later found in shopping bags; his hands were not recovered.

Wells admitted killing and dismembering O’Brien but denied murder. He told gardaí that O’Brien had wanted him to kill his partner, and that he fired a gun during a struggle before panicking and dismembering the body. The trial continued before Judge Paul McDermott and a jury.