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Alan Vial and Nikita Burns, who were convicted in March 2025 of murdering Robert Robin Wilkin at Sliabh Liag in County Donegal, have been granted a hearing date for their conviction appeals. Vial, aged 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, and...
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A man convicted of assaulting, raping and coercively controlling his partner over a six-week period has had his appeal against conviction dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Dean Ward, aged 38, formerly of County Wexford, was sentenced to...
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Alan Vial and Nikita Burns, convicted of murdering Robert Wilkin near Sliabh Liag in County Donegal, have been denied legal aid for a third senior barrister to represent them in their Court of Appeal bid to overturn their convictions. Mr...
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A man convicted of raping, assaulting and coercively controlling a woman over a six-week period has appealed his conviction at the Court of Appeal, arguing his trial was prejudiced by inadmissible evidence. Dean Ward, aged 38, was found...
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Alan Vial and Nikita Burns were convicted of the murder of Robin Wilkin, 66, at the Central Criminal Court on Thursday following a two-month trial. Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed the mandatory life sentence on each defendant yesterday....
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At the Central Criminal Court, Alan Vial and Nikita Burns have been convicted of the murder of Robert Wilkin, a 66-year-old man whose body was disposed of at Sliabh Liag in County Donegal in June 2023. Following an altercation on the...
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A jury has begun deliberations in the Central Criminal Court in the murder trial of two Co Donegal residents. Alan Vial, aged 39, from Drumanoo Head in Killybegs, and Nikita Burns, aged 23, from Carrick, have each pleaded not guilty to...
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At the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul McDermott has warned the jury that it would be dangerous to rely on the testimony of Alan Vial, who has implicated his co-accused Nikita Burns in the death of Robert Wilkin. Both deny...
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At the Central Criminal Court, closing arguments concluded in the trial of two people charged with the murder of Robert Robin Wilkin near Sliabh Liag in County Donegal on 25 June 2023. Nikita Burns (23) of Carrick and Alan Vial (39) of...
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At the Central Criminal Court, the prosecution has described Alan Vial, aged 39, of Killybegs, County Donegal, as a "cynical liar" who fabricated his account to evade responsibility for the death of 66-year-old Robert Robin' Wilkin....
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At the Central Criminal Court, the State Pathologist gave evidence in the trial of two individuals charged with the murder of a man alleged to have been pushed from Sliabh Liag cliffs in County Donegal in June 2023. Dr Margaret Bolster...
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The trial of Alan Vial and Nikita Burns at the Central Criminal Court has been adjourned for ten days to allow legal representatives to address an outstanding matter. Both defendants deny murdering Robert Robin Wilkin, whose body was...
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Alan Vial, aged 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal, denied during cross-examination at the Central Criminal Court that he fabricated allegations against his co-accused to evade responsibility for the death of Robert Robin...
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A man accused of murdering a 66-year-old pensioner at Sliabh Liag in County Donegal has admitted to gardaí that he fabricated allegations of sexual assault during questioning in 2023. Alan Vial, aged 39, told the Central Criminal Court...
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A 39-year-old man accused of murder has testified at the Central Criminal Court that his co-accused struck the alleged victim with a rock, causing the pensioner's death. Alan Vial, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal, told the...
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A geologist has given evidence at the Central Criminal Court that a bloodied rock allegedly used in the murder of a pensioner near Sliabh Liag in Donegal was most likely transported to the scene by human activity rather than occurring...
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At the Central Criminal Court, a witness told how he harboured growing concerns about his sister's wellbeing in the period preceding an alleged murder in Donegal. The brother of Nikita Burns said he was worried that she had ceased taking...
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A 3.5-kilogramme rock recovered from the Sliabh Liag cliffs near Killybegs contained hundreds of hairs and extensive bloodstaining consistent with a pensioner's injuries, the Central Criminal Court has heard. Forensic Science Ireland...
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At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, the State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster gave evidence in the trial of Nikita Burns, aged 23, of Carrick, County Donegal, and Alan Vial, aged 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal. Both...
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At the Central Criminal Court, a jury has viewed CCTV footage documenting the alleged movements of two defendants on the night of a pensioner's death in County Donegal. Nikita Burns, aged 22, of Carrick, and Alan Vial, aged 39, of...
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A pensioner had engaged in an aggressive altercation with the man accused of his murder just three days before he was allegedly beaten with a rock and thrown from Ireland's highest cliffs, the Central Criminal Court heard today. Bruce...
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At the Central Criminal Court, a witness has testified that a woman accused of murdering a 66-year-old man told him she had "battered" the victim with a rock and "liked it". Chris Quinn recalled that Nikita Burns, aged 23 of Carrick,...
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The Central Criminal Court trial has heard that it remains unknown whether a 66-year-old man was deceased when he was allegedly thrown from Sliabh Liag cliffs in Donegal in June 2023. Nikita Burns, aged 22, of Carrick, County Donegal, and...
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A jury of five men and seven women has been sworn in at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin to hear the trial of Alan Vial and Nikita Burns, who are charged with the murder of Robert Wilkin on 25 June 2023 in County Donegal. Ms Burns,...
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A Dutch skipper has failed in his appeal against conviction for breaching EU fishing regulations in Irish waters. Gerrit Plug, aged 59, was found guilty by jury at Letterkenney Circuit Criminal Court of failing to record estimated...
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Gerrit Plug, a 59-year-old Dutch national, has appealed his conviction for breaching European Union fishing regulations in Irish waters. Plug was found guilty by jury at Letterkenny Circuit Criminal Court of failing to record estimated...