Peter Butterly murder trial witness cross-examined

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

David Cullen was serving a “three-and-half-year prison sentence” for lesser offences while appearing as a State witness in the Peter Butterly murder trial. He was cross-examined at the Special Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 4 December 2014. The trial continued before a non-jury panel of three judges, with Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy presiding.

Dean Evans, Edward McGrath and Sharif Kelly had pleaded not guilty to murdering Peter Butterly. Dean Evans and Edward McGrath had also pleaded not guilty to firearm offences on the same occasion.

Peter Butterly was shot dead in the car park of the Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, Co Meath, on 6 March 2013. David Cullen, originally accused of the murder, decided to become a State witness on 5 June 2014 and was no longer facing the murder charge. His evidence implicated the three men on trial.

Under cross-examination on 4 December 2014 by Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending Sharif Kelly, David Cullen agreed that avoiding life imprisonment gave him an incentive to make allegations against Sharif Kelly. David Cullen also agreed that securing a deal from the State required information about other matters and evidence filling gaps in the prosecution case.

David Cullen had applied for witness protection but rejected the suggestion that leaving Ireland would involve little sacrifice or that the programme was attractive because his life here was bad. In a prison phone call with his father in September, David Cullen had described leaving as a fresh start. David Cullen accepted making those remarks but explained that his comments referred to the IRA.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.