Ruth Coppinger: Drones are a growing noise disturbance and intrusion on privacy
Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger played a recording of drones in her neighbour, 'in Blanchardstown, we've been suffering this for over a year and a half."
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Irish Times
43 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Analysts ‘did not identify' DNA of Dublin firefighter accused of raping woman in Boston hotel, US court hears
Analysts 'did not identify' the DNA of the Dublin firefighter arrested on rape charges over St Patrick's Day weekend last year in samples collected from the complainant, a US court has heard. The complainant, a 29-year-old attorney, claims she was raped last year by Terence Crosbie (38) while his Dublin Fire Brigade colleague Liam O'Brien slept in a separate bed in a shared hotel room. She says she had consensual relations with Mr O'Brien after meeting him at the Black Rose bar in Boston. She later fell asleep in a separate bed but then awoke to Mr Crosbie raping her. Mr Crosbie denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty. READ MORE Alexis Decesaris, a DNA analyst, testified on Thursday that a process was conducted to eliminate female DNA and isolate male DNA from samples collected from the complainant. She said the results were 'consistent' with there being 'two individuals' separate from the complainant who are both male. Earlier in the day, the court heard from a Boston police crime lab analyst that there was a high likelihood that one of those male profiles belonged to Mr O'Brien. However, Ms Decesaris, an analyst at Bode Technology,said it was unclear if the second set of male DNA, collected from the complainant's genitals, was deposited by Mr Crosbie. [ Dublin firefighter accused of raping woman in Boston hotel says he 'didn't touch' her, US court hears Opens in new window ] Ms Decesaris then faced cross-examination from defence lawyer Patrick Garrity. Addressing her, he said: 'Your testing did not identify Terence Crosbie's DNA on that genital swab, did you?' Ms Decesaris said that was 'correct'. Under questioning from Suffolk assistant district attorney Erin Murphy, Ms Decesaris again confirmed the finding of 'two distinct male contributors' in a sample collected from the complainant. The jury previously heard a Boston police detective testify that the complainant did not recall Mr O'Brien's name and did not recall meeting Mr Crosbie before the alleged assault. The court was told the detective tracked down Mr Crosbie with the help of hotel security footage as well as images of Mr O'Brien and Mr Crosbie provided to him by a federal agent. He said that on March 16th, 2024 – a day after the woman reported the alleged rape – he approached Mr Crosbie by the lift of the hotel. [ US woman awoke in Boston hotel to 'somebody on top' raping her, jury in Dublin firefighter trial told Opens in new window ] Detectives initially asked Mr Crosbie of his whereabouts on March 14th and March 15th. Mr Crosbie said he was one of 10 members of Dublin Fire Brigade who travelled to Boston to march in the city's St Patrick's Day parade. Mr Crosbie said he had interacted with the woman in the bar and again briefly when she went up to the hotel room with Mr O'Brien. He told detectives he waited in a chair in the corridor outside of room 610 while the complainant and Mr O'Brien were inside, jurors heard. He told detectives he later knocked on the door, used his phone as a torch and 'didn't see anybody in the bed'. Mr Crosbie said he removed his trousers and shirt, pulled the bed covers off and got into the bed. A minute and a half later, he said, he 'heard a girl moving' and saw her collect her belongings in the dark and leave. He told detectives he did not have any interactions with the complainant before she left. When detectives asked whether Mr Crosbie had sex with the woman, he replied: 'No, I didn't touch her.' Mr Crosbie was arrested later that evening after booking an early flight back to Ireland and boarding an aircraft. The woman has told the court through tears that she 'woke up to somebody on top of me' raping her. She testified that she told him to 'stop' and that she eventually managed to manoeuvre her legs off the side of the bed and break free. According to the complainant, Mr Crosbie continued to follow her around the hotel room. When she collected her clothes and went to the bathroom, she said Mr Crosbie tried to get in and 'was jiggling the handle' after she locked the door.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Puska family trial: jury to continue deliberations on Friday
A Central Criminal Court jury will continue their deliberations on Friday in the trial of four family members charged with offences relating to obstructing the arrest of the man who murdered schoolteacher Ashling Murphy . Jozef Puska murdered 23-year-old Ms Murphy by stabbing and slashing her neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore on the afternoon of January 12th, 2022. A jury later convicted him of that murder and he is serving a life sentence. His brothers, Lubomir Puska jnr (38) and Marek Puska (36) are charged with withholding information. Their wives, Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) are charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska by burning his clothes. READ MORE All the accused were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, when the offences are alleged to have occurred in January 2022. All accused have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The jury originally began its deliberations on Wednesday, but an amendment was made to the indictment on Thursday. The amendment relates to the charge that the accused knew that Jozef Puska had committed the offence of murder or some other arrestable offence. The amended indictment now reads that they knew he had committed the murder of Ashling Murphy or some other arrestable offence. In her closing speech earlier this week, prosecutor Anne-Marie Lawlor SC told the jury that Marek and Lubomir jnr knew what Jozef had done shortly after 9.30pm on the night of the murder because Jozef told Marek. Despite this, Ms Lawlor said Marek and Lubomir jnr failed to disclose vital information when they spoke to gardaí. Their wives burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution, she said. The jury had previously heard from defence counsel Karl Finnegan SC, who said in his closing speech that Marek Puska was entitled to remain silent to avoid incriminating himself. Mr Finnegan said there was a real risk that the information his client had could implicate him in an offence of assisting his brother after the murder. He said the legislation regarding withholding information was introduced following the Omagh bombing to force people with knowledge of that atrocity to come forward. However, Mr Finnegan said, the legislation does not remove a person's right to remain silent if they believe that they could incriminate themselves. At the time, Mr Finnegan said, there was a real risk that his client would be arrested for assisting Puska after the murder by arranging to get him out of Tullamore or because he knew of the plan to burn Jozef's clothes. The jury of seven men and five women will continue their deliberations on Friday.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Annie McCarrick: Gardaí made first arrest in 32-year investigation after receiving new information
The arrest of a man as part of the investigation into the 1993 disappearance and murder of Annie McCarrick follows a period of intense activity in the inquiry in recent years. The search of a house in Dublin is also connected to developments during this time. Gardaí had long nominated a chief suspect in the case and they arrested him on Thursday morning. The Irish Times understands the Garda investigation team decided to make the arrest and carry out the search based on new information it received. Detectives had already spoken to the chief suspect several times in relation to the case. Ms McCarrick disappeared from south Dublin in March, 1993. Her case was upgraded two years ago, from a missing persons inquiry to a murder investigation. The suspect, who was well known to Ms McCarrick, forged a career in business since 1993 and accumulated significant wealth. The arrest and the house search in Clondalkin are significant developments. However, they also represent the latest phase in an investigation that has, for years, been focused on the theory that a friend of the 26-year-old New Yorker killed her after a personal dispute. READ MORE Detectives also spoke to a man close to the suspect in recent months. That interview was carried out abroad. The man is believed to have previously told detectives he was with the chief suspect during the weekend Ms McCarrick disappeared. The suspect taken into custody on Thursday is the first person to be arrested in the 32-year inquiry . He was questioned on suspicion of murdering Ms McCarrick. He is in his 60s and does not usually live in Dublin. He was detained by members of the Dublin south central division's serious crime unit based at Irishtown Garda station. As he was being arrested, the property in Clondalkin was being sealed off for a search. The suspect was closely linked to the house at the time Ms McCarrick disappeared and she is believed to have stayed there at least once. The house was last sold about 15 years ago and gardaí stress that the current owners have no connection to the murder investigation. Situated in a small estate, the home has been extensively renovated and extended by its current owners, with most of that work completed over a decade ago. The arrested man knew Ms McCarrick from her time studying in Ireland. Following two years of living back in her hometown of New York, she returned to live in Ireland in January, 1993. Two months later, she disappeared from her rented apartment at St Catherine's Court, Sandymount, Dublin 4. The narrative around Ms McCarrick's disappearance – based on claimed sightings by eyewitnesses – has always involved her travelling by bus from south Dublin to Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on the day she went missing: Friday, March 26th, 1993. There were also reported sightings of her in Enniskerry village and at Johnnie Fox's pub in Glencullen, in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, about 6km from Enniskerry. [ Annie McCarrick's best friend is 'overwhelmed with emotion, crying over my coffee' after developments in case Opens in new window ] However, those details have effectively been put to one side and the investigation is now based on what may have happened in Sandymount. Gardaí believe Ms McCarrick was the victim of foul play at the hands of a man she knew well and that her body was then disposed of to conceal the crime. Ms McCarrick had confided in her US-based friends that a man she had relations with in Dublin struck her in a drunken state. She told friends she believed he was harassing or stalking her. Detectives believe the killing and disposal of her remains had probably taken place before she was reported missing on March 28th, 1993. That was about 48 hours after the last confirmed sighting of her, by her flatmates in Sandymount. Gardaí suspect she was killed, or at least met her murderer, in the area around her flat. The reported sightings of Ms McCarrick in the Enniskerry and Glencullen areas now appear to have achieved nothing. They may have wasted vital time and led the initial investigation astray during the crucial period immediately after a murder, when killers are most likely to slip up.
