Man (21) guilty of driving Mahamud Ilyas killers to wood where body was dumped

BreakingNews.ie

23-05-2025

Four men have been convicted of offences arising out of the "inhumane" murder of Mahamud Ilyas, after a jury convicted a 21-year-old of impeding the apprehension of two drug dealers who beat the victim to death for stealing a bag of cannabis.
Lorenzo Cantaragiu drove Mr Ilyas's murderers Viorel Doroscan (23) and Otniel Richardo Clejan (24) to a wooded area in Co Meath where the two killers left Mr Ilyas (22) for dead.
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Clejan and Doroscan had previously assaulted Mr Ilyas with various weapons, including a hammer, causing the injuries that led to his death.
Lorenzo Cantaragiu has also been convicted of cleaning the car to impede the prosecution of Doroscan and Clejan, knowing or believing that they had caused serious harm to Mr Ilyas.
Viorel Doroscan (23). Photo: Collins
Otniel Richardo Clejan (24). Photo: Collins
Robert Burns (59), who lived at the apartment in Verdemont in Blanchardstown where the assault took place, was initially charged with six counts of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Clejan and Doroscan.
A little over one week into the trial, Burns pleaded guilty to one offence of cleaning the apartment at Verdemont on December 9th, 2022, knowing or believing Clejan had committed serious harm there.
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The prosecution indicated that the other charges will be dismissed at a later hearing.
The Central Criminal Court jury returned unanimous verdicts on the four charges against Cantragiu on Friday afternoon.
The panel of seven men and five women rejected the defence case that Cantaragiu had feared for his life and had acted reasonably given the "intimidating and terrifying" circumstances in which he found himself.
They had deliberated for a total of four hours and 58 minutes.
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Mr Cantaragiu did not react as the verdicts were delivered. He later bowed his head and wiped his eyes.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt thanked the jury for the hard work and commitment they put into this case and the important contribution they had made 'in this very sad and very difficult matter'.
He exempted each of them from jury duty for 30 years.
After the jury delivered its verdicts, Jane Murpy BL, prosecuting, made an application for Cantaragiu to be remanded in custody ahead of a sentencing hearing on June 23.
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Michael Lynn SC, for Cantaragiu asked that his client be granted bail, highlighting the fact that Cantaragiu is a 21-year-old man with no previous convictions.
After considering the matter, Mr Justice Hunt said the defendant had been involved in the disposal of a man who was very badly wounded, at best.
He said to treat another human being in this manner was 'grotesquely inhumane' and Mr Ilyas had 'literally been left for dead'.
He remanded Cantaragiu in custody to June 23rd and directed the preparation of a probation report.
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Mr Ilyas's body was discovered in a wooded area at Belgree Lane in Co Meath on December 10th 2022.
The 22-year-old died from blunt force trauma to the head. Assistant State pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told the jury that the deceased sustained depressed fractures to his head, which were "typical of hammer blows".
Row over drugs
It was the State's case that Doroscan and Clejan were involved in the sale and supply of drugs and that they beat Mr Ilyas to death after a row over a stolen bag of cannabis.
Cantaragiu, of Castlegrange Park, Blanchardstown, had faced four charges of impeding the prosecution or apprehension of Doroscan and Clejan, while knowing or believing them to have committed the offence of causing serious harm to Mr Ilyas. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He was accused of impeding the prosecution by driving Doroscan and Clejan to Belgree Lane in Co Meath, where Mr Ilyas's body was found in a field the following day.
It was further alleged that Cantaragiu cleaned his car to impede the prosecution.
Defence counsel Michael Lynn SC had argued that Cantaragiu 'believed he was at risk' and had acted reasonably given the "intimidating and terrifying" circumstances in which he found himself.
He reminded the jury that Cantaragiu told gardaí that Doroscan and Clejan had threatened to kill him and he saw no way to escape.
Cantargiu had told gardaí that he feared that "bigger criminals" or drug dealers would come after him and he was worried for his family.
When interviewed, Cantaragiu said that he drove Doroscan and Clejan to an area in Hollystown where 'they took the body out'.
'That's the last time I seen them with him. I last seen him when he was headfirst in the ditch and I helped him up. He was breathing, because I heard his gasps. I left after that and never went back,' he told officers.
During the trial, the jury viewed CCTV footage from Verdemont in Blanchardstown on December 9th showing two people wearing dark clothing carrying 'a red object' which contained the victim.
A BMW driven by Cantaragiu then exited the car park and travelled towards Kilbride, Co Meath, before returning at 4.18pm from the area where the deceased was found.
At 4.29pm, Cantaragiu entered the Circle K at Mulhuddart, where he purchased cleaning products. Less than a quarter of an hour later, Cantaragiu met with an individual at Circle K, Coolmine to sell the BMW.
In his closing address to the jury, Eoin Lawlor SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said that Cantaragiu had known Doroscan and Clejan had brought a body down to the car, so he had known that the offence of causing serious harm had been committed.
Counsel said the CCTV footage showed that Cantaragiu arrived at the apartment at 3.46pm, but the body was not brought to the car until 3.53pm, with the boot of the car open for a long time.
He said Cantaragiu had time to 'weigh the significance of what was being asked of him', but it was clear he intended to assist. Counsel said Cantaragiu later sold his car, as he knew that the car had become a crime scene.
Doroscan, of Bay Meadows Square, Hollystown, West Dublin, and Clejan, with a former address at Verdemont, had both pleaded not guilty to Mr Ilyas's murder on December 9, 2022 but were unanimously convicted by the jury on Tuesday.
The 12 jurors rejected the defence case that the two men had acted in self-defence after they claimed Mr Ilyas came running into an apartment with a weapon and threatened to kill them.
Evidence
Witness Vlady Ndosimau previously told the trial that he barged through the door of the apartment after hearing a loud banging noise. Inside, he said he witnessed Mr Ilyas sitting on the floor, with his back against a radiator, looking as if he had been beaten and with blood coming from his nose.
His hands and feet were tied using a rope or a zip tie and he was moaning while Clejan and Doroscan shouted at him, the witness said.
Doroscan, holding a fruit knife, stood between Mr Ilyas's legs while Clejan stood close to his head with a hammer in his hand, the witness said.
Doroscan, he said, kept on shouting "where is the stuff" while Mr Ilyas responded by "groaning and groaning".
Mr Lawlor told the jury that the use of a hammer was the 'modus operandi for conflict resolution' employed by Doroscan, while the 'appalling, callous way' in which the victim's body was disposed of indicated his co-accused's part in the joint enterprise of the murder.
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During the nine-week trial, the jury viewed footage of a Snapchat video on Doroscan's account that showed a man lying on the ground, face up, with visible blood on his face and a large blood stain on the wall behind him.
The short clip showed the video-taker moving in closer to the head of the man on the floor and video-takers shoe can be seen briefly. Detective Inspector Liam Donoghue said the shoe matched those worn by Doroscan on the same day.
Metadata from Snapchat showed that the clip had been taken at 2.51pm on December 9, 2022 in Verdemont estate in Blanchardstown.
Doroscan and Clejan have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment at a sentencing hearing on June 23rd when members of the victim's family will be invited to make Victim Impact Statements.