Man charged over online threats on social media pages
A 50-year-old man has appeared before a special sitting of Portlaoise District Court charged with offences relating to online threats shared on his social media page.
Beniamin Petre, of no fixed abode, was charged under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 and under the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024.
Detective Garda Mark Russell said he arrested Mr Petre yesterday at Rathmiles, Abbeyleix, in Co Laois, under Section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1977 and brought him to Abbeyleix Garda Station, where he was detained.
Detective Russell said that he was seeking directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions and that there may be further charges.
Defending solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said that her client was not seeking bail and was consenting to be remanded in custody.
Judge Andrew Cody remanded Mr Petre in custody to appear again at Portlaoise District Court on 5 June by video link.
He also marked on the detention order that the defendant receive urgent medical assessment while in custody.
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Dublin Live
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"We appealed and appealed and appealed. We went to the DPP, they said no, the Garda Commissioner said no and we went to the State solicitor's office," said Bernie. "This is our last resort, breaking our silence." Stolen Sister begins with the story of Elizabeth and how she fell in love with her boyfriend Damien. After spending a holiday together in France, the couple decided to meet friends for a night away in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow on August 28, 1976. When Elizabeth waved goodbye to her mother that afternoon, nobody knew that it would be the last time her family would see her. The pals gathered in a pub in Brittas for drinks but a disagreement broke out and Elizabeth ended up leaving the pub. Meanwhile, Shaw and Evans had left Fethard in Tipperary where they were laying low following their release from prison for robberies and had driven to Dublin to collect suitcases belonging to Evans. They later decided to drive to Brittas to "break into some caravans." 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Mr MacGuill said outside Gorey Court: "Elizabeth was hunted down and savagely killed by two men who, less than a month later, went on to murder another woman, Mary Duffy. "Despite these vile criminals confessing to murdering both Elizabeth and Mary, they were only ever convicted of Mary's murder. With this new development, we're calling on Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to reopen the case into Elizabeth's death and submit a new file to the DPP." They added: "Although one culprit died, the other remains in an Irish prison for murdering Mary Duffy. But he also confessed and was charged with falsely imprisoning, raping and murdering our sister Elizabeth – yet the DPP decided against prosecuting him for these crimes by entering a nolle prosequi. We now want the DPP to explain that decision." During the inquest hearing, Detective Inspector Murt Whelan from Wexford Garda Station told how during the course of their detention, Shaw and Evans admitted to being involved in the abduction, rape and murder of Elizabeth Plunkett. Shaw, who with accomplice Evans became known as the State's first serial killers, has been behind bars since September 1976. The twisted killer, who is likely to die in jail because of the severity of his crimes, met Evans in an English prison where they hatched their chilling plot to abduct, torture, rape and murder women. Their killing spree ended with the murder of young clerk Elizabeth Plunkett, 23, in Co Wicklow and cook Mary Duffy, 24, in Co Mayo. They were both handed life sentences in February 1978. Evil Evans spent almost four years in a coma at a Dublin hospital before dying of sepsis in 2012. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
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Irish Times
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