William Moran pleads not guilty to Martin Brophy murder

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

William Moran, aged 20, of Connolly Place, Waterford City, was on trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, charged with murdering Martin Brophy, aged 22, at the old Waterford Institute of Technology building between 19 and 21 May 2012. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. The proceedings were reported on 11 March 2015.

On 10 March 2015, Detective Sergeant Donal Donoghue confirmed with Michael Delaney, prosecuting, that in a voluntary statement made on 29 May 2012, the accused admitted kicking Martin Brophy in the head. The report said that in a garda interview on 2 July 2012, the detective put it to the accused that he had admitted kicking Martin Brophy in the head 10 times. The accused replied: “I remember”.

Asked during a garda interview in July 2012 whether kicking Martin Brophy 10 times contributed to his death, the accused replied: “he was still alive when I left”. The report also recorded his interview responses “I pushed and kicked him” and, when asked about saying he had kicked the deceased in the face, “I didn’t murder him.”

Under cross-examination by Colman Cody, defending, the detective confirmed that he was responsible for the overall preservation of the scene. Colman Cody confirmed that preservation began sometime after 6pm on 21 May 2012 and that the scene had not been preserved from 19 May. He said there was evidence of people entering the scene later on 19 and 20 May.

The trial was continuing at the time of the report.