Beautician ‘naive' when she tried to help ex evade arrest after shooting, court told
'BLIND EYE' |
Dominic McGinn SC, for Rachel Redmond (35), said that despite his client's plea of not guilty, she now accepts the jury's verdict and understands why they convicted her
Rachel Redmond (File photo: Collins Courts)
Dominic McGinn SC, for Rachel Redmond (35), said that despite his client's plea of not guilty, she now accepts the jury's verdict and understands why they convicted her. Counsel asked for leniency for Redmond, the younger sister of career criminal Robert "Roo" Redmond, with the court hearing she once worked in security for the Saudi Arabian embassy.
Mr McGinn said the relationship with Cooney "fed into her behaviour" and prevented her from "realising what would have been abundantly obvious to everyone else".
Redmond wrote a letter of apology to the family of Jordan Davis, who Wayne Cooney shot dead in an execution-style killing on May 22, 2019 at a laneway beside Our Lady Immaculate Junior National School in Darndale on Dublin's northside.
Mr Davis was pushing his four-month-old son in a pram when Cooney cycled up behind him and fired eight shots, three of which struck him, causing immediate death. A child who happened to be cycling through the laneway was just metres away when Cooney started firing.
Cooney fled the scene on his bicycle and went to a bus stop near the Clarehall Shopping Centre, where Rachel Redmond arranged to pick him up in her friend's car. That night, she arranged for Cooney to stay at the Clayton Hotel.
A jury convicted Redmond, from Coolock but with an address at Cliftonville Avenue, North Belfast, Co Antrim, of attempting to impede Cooney's apprehension or prosecution while knowing or believing him to have committed murder. Following her conviction, she shouted from the dock: "I didn't do it though, I didn't do anything."
Jordan Davis
She had taken the stand at her trial, saying that she did not know what Cooney had done, that she was in love with him and was unable to see the bad in him.
Mr McGinn yesterday told the court that Redmond now accepts the jury verdict. He asked Mr Justice Paul Burns to consider that, despite his client's efforts to impede the investigation, gardai did arrest Wayne Cooney and he was convicted of murder. Redmond was, counsel said, "perhaps naive, blinded by the relationship and turned a blind eye rather than deliberately setting out to commit a crime."
Asking for leniency, Mr McGinn pointed out his client's "solid work record" over her adult life. She has worked as a beautician, including for the IFSC and Aer Lingus. She has also worked in security for the Saudi Arabian embassy and for the psychiatric unit at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
Mr McGinn handed in testimonies from Redmond's mother, father and a former employer.
Wayne Cooney
The testimonials refer to her as a "hard-working, kind, loving young lady" for whom these offences are "very much out of character", Mr McGinn said.
Mr Justice Burns adjourned the matter to next Monday to deliver sentence.
In April, 2024 Rachel Redmond's brother, Robert 'Roo' Redmond, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder Jordan Davis. Text exchanges showed that Robert Redmond was demanding Mr Davis repay him a drug debt of €70,000.
In one exchange, 19 days before Cooney carried out the murder, Robert Redmond warned Mr Davis: "I'm on your case mate, it won't be long" and "soon, very soon bang bang".
Rachel Redmond (File photo: Collins Courts)
News in 90 Seconds - May 13th
A career criminal, Robert Redmond had 99 previous convictions, including two counts for possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
In 2022, Robert Redmond received the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering father-of-eight Barry Wolverson (40) at Madigan's Yard, Kileek Lane, Swords, Co Dublin on January 17, 2020.
Following Rachel Redmond's trial, the jury took seven hours and 33 minutes over three days to unanimously accept the State's case that she drove Cooney away from the scene and later checked him into the Clayton Hotel near Dublin Airport on the night of the murder. Read more
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Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Convicted rapist who harassed three Sunday World journalists jailed
Mark McAnaw, previously of Letterkenny, Co Donegal, pleaded guilty to the harassment of Ms Tallant, Ms Brunker and Ms Reynolds on various dates in August 2023. Amanda Brunker and Deirdre Reynolds speaking to media following the sentence hearing of Mark McAnaw in the circuit court in Dublin. Photo: Collins Courts A convicted rapist who threatened and harassed three female Sunday World journalists has been jailed for 11 years. Mark McAnaw (53) refused to enter a bond before a sitting of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court which would have suspended the final 12 months of the 11-year sentence imposed for the harassment of Nicola Tallant, Amanda Brunker and Deirdre Reynolds. After Judge Pauline Codd had outlined the conditions attached to the suspended portion of the sentence today, McAnaw's counsel Rebecca Smith BL said her client did not wish to enter the bond as he found the conditions 'onerous'. As a result, the judge imposed the full 11-year sentence. Judge Codd also ordered that McAnaw should have no contact either directly or indirectly with the women, should not approach them, go within 10 miles of their homes and workplaces or communicate with them for life. McAnaw, previously of Letterkenny, Co Donegal, pleaded guilty to the harassment of Ms Tallant, Ms Brunker and Ms Reynolds on various dates in August 2023. Amanda Brunker and Deirdre Reynolds speaking to media following the sentence hearing of Mark McAnaw in the circuit court in Dublin. Photo: Collins Courts The court heard McAnaw repeatedly sent the three women emails and messages of a violent and sexually threatening nature, which escalated to him threatening to put a 'bullet' in Ms Reynolds. He also referred to himself as an 'IRA Top Boy'. He also turned up at the offices of the Sunday World on Talbot Street and, when refused entry, he went to a cafe across the road. When gardai approached him there, McAnaw was in the process of writing an email to Ms Tallant. McAnaw is currently detained in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH). McAnaw does not accept his diagnosis of schizophrenia and has declined to take medication, the court was told. His previous convictions include the rape of a foreign student in Donegal in October 2010, for which he was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2012. McAnaw also has a 1989 conviction for kidnapping and convictions for assaults causing actual bodily harm from a court in Northern Ireland in 2011. He also has a conviction for aggravated assault after attacking a woman in her home in April 2018, for which he received a sentence of eight years and four months in June 2023. This sentence was backdated to 2018 when he went into custody, with the final 16 months suspended for 16 years on strict conditions. McAnaw was released from custody on this sentence in July 2023 – one month before the harassment of the three journalists took place. Mark McAnaw News in 90 Seconds - 5th June 2025 Ms Smith said her client instructs that he found it difficult to abide by the conditions attached to the suspended portion of the sentence imposed in 2023. A handwritten letter from McAnaw was also handed to the court, which Judge Codd described as 'concerning'. Judge Codd noted that social media and online communication makes it easier to target journalists and others in public facing roles. The judge noted women in the public eye are often targeted online and subjected to 'base and lewd threats and comments', which accelerated with the advent of social media. Judge Codd said it is important that 'in a democracy, free speech and freedom of press must be rightly defended' and an aggravating feature of the case was the targeting of female journalists with 'threats of a highly graphic nature'. The judge said general deterrence was necessary and that the 'message goes out' that there are criminal laws which can and will be enforced. She said it was aggravating that McAnaw harassed the women in the context of their work, which potentially impacted their constitutional rights to earn a living and bodily integrity. Judge Codd said the court also had to consider the issue of protection of the public, given McAnaw's history of violent offending, the evidence of his failure to follow medical advice and his consumption of illicit substances, including cannabis. The judge said the need to protect the public 'can't be an end in itself', adding that preventative detention is not permitted by law in Ireland. But Judge Codd said the protection of society was a factor alongside other sentencing principles that the court could have regard to when constructing a proportionate sentence. She added that the fact that 'an offender is a danger to public, which is borne out by evidence, can justify a sentence towards the higher end of the scale'. The judge noted McAnaw's mental health difficulties and that he declines to take anti-psychotic medication 'reserved for most serious cases of schizophrenia'. The judge said McAnaw also has a history of substance misuse and inconsistent past engagement with community mental health services. The judge said McAnaw is assessed at high risk of violent and sexual re-offending. She said the court would give no discount on the headline sentence for his mental health issues, as he had contributed to them by declining to follow medical advice and by taking illicit substances. Judge Codd said the escalating nature of the messages sent was aggravating and, in relation to Ms Reynolds, these included a threat to kill. The judge said while the offences occurred over a short period of time, this had less weight due to McAnaw's status as a violent offender, which would have exacerbated the concern felt by the injured parties. Judge Codd noted the mitigation including McAnaw's guilty pleas and his background. She outlined a global sentence of 11 years, with the final 12 months to be suspended on strict conditions for five years. These included that McAnaw remain under probation supervision for five years, comply with his medical regime, refrain from the use of illicit substances and make available any internet-enabled devices when requested by gardai. The judge backdated the sentence to August 2023, when McAnaw went into custody. Ms Brunker and Ms Reynolds were both present in court when the sentence was imposed. Probation and forensic psychological reports were handed to the court. Ms Smith told the court her client does not accept the diagnosis of a mental illness and has remained drug-free since entering the CMH in October 2023. Judge Codd commended the three women for their resilience and courage throughout the process and wished them well for the future. She directed McAnaw to appear at a sitting of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court later this month in relation to the breach of conditions imposed as part of a suspended sentence.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Satchwell guilty of murder: Here's what the jury didn't hear
TRIAL MOVED TO DUBLIN Richard Satchwell's trial was initially scheduled to sit in his home county of Cork but, due to the "intense publicity" surrounding the case, his lawyers applied late last year to move the trial to the capital. The move was resisted by the State, who pointed out that much of the publicity was generated by Satchwell himself. In November last year Brendan Grehan SC, for Satchwell, said that as the media attention was concentrated in Cork, it would be "impossible to retain an impartial jury" there who had not heard of the case and formed "adverse views of Mr Satchwell". Mr Grehan said that most trials can be held in local venues but some generate media attention that can be "macabre" and lead to "greater hostility than it is possible to imagine in an ordinary case." Satchwell's preference, Mr Grehan said, was for the trial to be held in Limerick so it would be closer to the prison where he was being held. "He has a position of responsibility there, which enables him to be a productive prisoner," counsel told the court. Gerardine Small SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, opposed the change of venue, arguing that publicity around the case was national, not local. File picture: Collins Courts Gerardine Small SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, opposed the change of venue, arguing that publicity around the case was national, not local. Also, she said, much of that publicity was generated by Satchwell who "sought the attention of the media" by appearing on radio and television shows. Ms Small pointed to Satchwell's appearances on RTÉ's Prime Time, TV3's Ireland AM, the Ray D'Arcy Show and the numerous interviews he gave to journalists. She added: "It is an unusual factor that it [the media attention] can be attributed to the accused man while he was aware the body of his wife was buried where it was." Mr Justice Paul McDermott agreed to change the venue to Dublin, due to the significant risk of an unfair trial. He said: "The high degree of local coverage and engagement with the case takes it out of the ordinary." 'SOMEWHAT OF A SIDE SHOW: TWEETS AND CHARGINGS' During the trial and in the absence of the jury, Mr Grehan applied to exclude Satchwell's "cryptic" reply of "Guilty or not guilty, guilty" when he was formally charged with the murder of Tina on October 13, 2023. Counsel said a second part of the application - which was "somewhat of a side show" - was connected to the fact that a member of the press - Paul Byrne, formerly of Virgin Media News - tweeted that Satchwell was going to be charged before gardaí had actually done so. He said Superintendent Anne Marie Twomey had received directions from a legal officer at 7.28pm to charge Satchwell with the murder of his wife and he was formally charged at 8:07pm on October 13. Mr Grehan said Mr Byrne had tweeted at 8.03pm that "a man in his 50's had been charged with the murder of Tina Satchwell" - four minutes before his client was formally charged. Counsel said Michael O'Toole, of The Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star, had "retweeted" at 8.09pm from the handle @mickthehack that "Richard Satchwell had been charged with the murder of his wife". A number of gardaí who were called to give evidence in the voir dire denied that they had contacted anyone in the media but accepted that Mr Byrne had tweeted about it several minutes in advance and that Mr O'Toole had named Satchwell as being charged two minutes after it occurred. Mr Grehan said it was "implicit" that contact was made with a number of people in the media "to enable them to do their job". Counsel also submitted that Satchwell should have been informed that he could consult with his solicitor before the charging process took place and was entitled to legal advice "at this critical juncture". "It vitiated the process and the court should not permit the fruits of the charging to be now available to the prosecution," he added. Richard Satchwell's Senior council Brendan Grehan (left) and solicitor Eddie Burke. During the trial and in the absence of the jury, Mr Grehan applied to exclude Satchwell's 'cryptic' reply of 'Guilty or not guilty, guilty' when he was formally charged with the murder of Tina on October 13, 2023. Photo: Niall Carson/PA He said the defendant's solicitor Eddie Burke had left the garda station at 7.07pm that evening and didn't arrive back until 8.10pm - three minutes after the charging took place. The lawyer said his client's reply after caution was more prejudicial than probative and would create difficulties in terms of how the jury could be properly directed. In reply, Ms Small said Satchwell, who was interviewed by gardaí on 10 separate occasions, had a "full appreciation of his entitlement not to say anything" in reply to the caution and was acutely aware of this. The defence, she said, was claiming there is an entitlement to have a solicitor present on charging and she wasn't aware of any such entitlement. She said the entitlement was to legal advice, which Satchwell had received "in abundance". She called the media tweets "completely irrelevant". In his ruling, Mr Justice McDermott said the defendant's reply was fully voluntary and found that the absence of a solicitor in the garda station had not impaired the fairness of the process. He refused to exclude the reply to charge. DIRECTION TO REMOVE MURDER CHARGE FROM INDICTMENT When the prosecution's case was at an end, Mr Grehan applied to the judge to withdraw the charge of murder against his client, submitting there was no evidence of an intention to kill or cause serious injury, which he said was "a huge lacuna" in the State's case. "It is one of the elements of the offence of murder which the prosecution have to adduce evidence of, which they have singularly failed to do," he argued. He said Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster couldn't give a cause of death due to a very long post mortem period and had confirmed there were no broken bones in Tina's body. He said she wasn't able to conclude anything about the state of the organs due to the lapse of time. Mr Grehan said there was an explanation available to the jury as to how death was caused in the case without the evidence of the pathologist or anthropologist and that explanation was given by his client, where Satchwell said the belt of Tina's bathrobe had been held up against her neck until she collapsed. Counsel said this was the only account available as to what happened to Tina and was of "immense importance" as there was no evidence of violence discovered in the post mortem. Counsel said it was significant that Tina's hyoid bone was unfractured. He said there was also no medical evidence to say that his client's account of holding Tina off with a restraint against her neck before she collapsed suddenly was not possible. In a ruling, Mr Justice McDermott said Richard Satchwell's (pictured) immediate response was to create a false impression that Tina was alive and he had taken every conceivable step to protect himself. File photo: Brian Lawless/PA In reply, Ms Small submitted that there was "a wealth of evidence" from the surrounding circumstances in the case from which intent could be inferred. Counsel said the deception began on March 20, 2017, very shortly after Satchwell killed Tina and the plethora of lies were an acknowledgement of guilt. Ms Small said a limited post mortem examination was conducted because the defendant had buried his wife in a manner to ensure the cause of death wasn't available. She added: "There is also motive on his own account, Satchwell says she is threatening to leave him. She has wasted 28 years of her life, that is all part of the evidence for the jury to accept or not." Mr Grehan said the lies told were not sufficient to show intent for murder. Referring to motive, he said there was also clearly a basis for which Tina might have wanted nothing further to do with her husband and attacked him in that manner. In his ruling, Mr Justice McDermott said Satchwell's immediate response was to create a false impression that Tina was alive and he had taken every conceivable step to protect himself. He said Satchwell told lie after lie "to any journalist who'd indulge him" and portrayed a scenario that his wife had deserted him suddenly without any explanation. Mr Justice McDermott said Satchwell had shown a degree of malevolence towards his wife and the defendant was totally focused on protecting himself from discovery. There had been, he said, a period of six prolonged years before Tina's body, of which Satchwell had disposed of, was found and this was relevant to the issue of intention. He said it was a matter for the jury as to whether Satchwell had formed the requisite intent and whether he was guilty of his wife's murder. He rejected the application to withdraw the murder charge. APPLICATION TO DISCHARGE THE JURY At the very end of the trial, when Mr Justice McDermott had finished charging the jurors, Mr Grehan said on foot of instructions from his client he "regrettably" had to seek the discharge of the jury. Counsel voiced his opposition to the tone of the charge, which he said was intended to "nudge" the jurors towards a guilty verdict. Counsel said he became increasingly concerned as the charge proceeded that it was not resembling a charge but a "second prosecution speech" in terms of the emphasis the court was placing on the State's case to the detriment of the defence. Mr Grehan told the judge he had not put the defence case in full at all to the jury. He said the two separate tasks of directions on the law and a summary of the evidence had become "intermingled" and submitted there was no balance in what had been said to the panel. "The whole emphasis of what was said to the court seemed to be to reiterate the prosecution case," he argued. Richard Satchwell's Senior council Brendan Grehan (left) and solicitor Eddie Burke. Mr Grehan had sought the discharge of the jury on foot of instructions from his client. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Mr Grehan said the facts of the case "shouted and screamed for themselves" in terms of what Satchwell did and didn't do. "They are not facts that need to be nudged or pushed for the jury in any particular way". Counsel said it was beyond remedy at this stage and the court should discharge the jury. Ms Small called Mr Grehan's application "wholly inappropriate", describing the charge as balanced, fair and extremely comprehensible. "The criticism is unfounded, a court will rarely outline all the evidence, that is a matter for the jury". In his ruling, the judge said this was a difficult case in which to sum up the evidence for the jury and he didn't accept that his charge was "so wildly unbalanced". He disagreed that the absence of references to certain parts of the evidence in any sense justified the jury being discharged. Mr Justice McDermott refused the application but did give the jury further directions in relation to two matters of which complaints were made, one relating to the detailed evidence of Lorraine Howard concerning her half sister Tina, the other to evidence that Satchwell loved or was "besotted" with his wife. Read More How a concrete patch under the stairs in Youghal revealed Tina Satchwell's tragic fate
Sunday World
28-05-2025
- Sunday World
Jozef Puska's brother denies telling someone to dispose of murder knife, jury hears
LATEST | Lubomir Puska Jnr told gardaí that he asked Jozef what had happened to him, to which his brother replied that he had wanted to kill himself and he had done a 'horrendous thing'. Lubomir Puska. Photo: Collins Courts The jury also heard that Lubomir Puska Jnr (37) denied that he had asked anyone to dispose of the clothes worn by his brother on the day Jozef Puska murdered Ms Murphy. Jozef Puska (35) attacked Ms Murphy (23) on the canal towpath at Cappincur in Tullamore on January 12, 2022. She died having suffered 12 sharp force injuries to her neck, eleven of which were stab wounds. Puska's brothers Lubomir Puska Jnr and Marek Puska (36) are charged with withholding information, knowing or believing that the information might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution, or conviction of Jozef Puska for a serious offence involving loss of human life or serious personal injury to another. Josef Puska Both men have pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Offences Against the State, Amendment Act 1988. Jozefina Grundzova (31), who is married to Marek Puska, and Viera Gaziova (38), who is married to Lubomir Puska Jnr, are accused of assisting in burning clothing between January 12 and 14, without reasonable excuse, intending to impede the apprehension or prosecution of Jozef Puska, knowing or believing him to have committed the offence of murder or some other arrestable offence within the same category or of a similar nature. They have pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are charged under the Criminal Law Act 1997. All the accused have an address at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Tullamore, Co Offaly. The jury previously heard that in his first statement to gardaí, Lubomir Jnr said he first saw his brother Jozef in the early afternoon that day. He seemed "a bit sad, not in a good mood," Lubomir Jnr said. He told gardaí that he left the house at about 11.30 and did not see his brother again. However, he later returned to the garda station and made a second statement, in which he apologised for lying and said that when Jozef arrived home on the night of January 12, it looked like he had been struck on the forehead. The jury at the Central Criminal Court today watched video footage of Lubomir Jnr's interview with gardaí on January 18, 2022, in which he said he returned home on the day Ms Murphy was murdered to find his brother Jozef looking 'like he was beaten by someone'. Ashling Murphy Through a Slovakian interpreter, Lubomir Jnr said that Jozef was 'swollen on the forehead' and his cheek was red like he had been scraped. He said his brother had 'a weird walk, kind of broken,' as though something had happened to him. He told the gardaí that his brother, who was just out of the shower, opened the towel he was wearing to reveal three stab wounds. 'He looked drunk, but he wasn't drunk,' said Lubomir Jnr. He told gardaí that he asked Jozef what had happened to him, to which his brother replied that he had wanted to kill himself and he had done a 'horrendous thing'. 'He said when he was stabbing himself, there was a girl running or exercising, she went towards him,' the accused told gardaí. 'She said: 'What are you doing? Don't do it, you are too young.' He said to her, 'Leave me alone, it's my life, my business.'' The accused said that Jozef 'probably wanted to push her away to leave him alone', but he thought that Jozef 'cut her with the knife'. After telling the gardaí this, the accused said it had been 'very heavy, very hard to say'. 'I never said anything like that in my life,' said the accused. Lubomir Puska. Photo: Collins Courts News in 90 Seconds - May 28th He told gardaí that he could not believe what his brother was telling him, so he asked him again what he had done. He said that Jozef told him: 'I don't know whether I hurt her so much, but I think I did... it must have been an accident, I didn't want to do this, but I just switched my hand as she was coming near me.' The accused said he told his brother to tell their parents immediately what he had done, to which Jozef said that he would tell them but only after they brought him to Dublin. The accused said he told his brother to tell their parents everything and 'don't make any secrets'. In a further interview, the accused told gardaí that he thought Jozef had his clothes in the bathroom with him. When asked if anyone removed those clothes, he said that he did not know. Detective Garda Joanne O'Sullivan gave evidence to prosecution counsel Sean Gillane SC of the accused's next interview with gardaí, conducted on January 26, 2022. Read more In this interview, it was put to the accused that someone had asked his wife to move Josef's clothes and put them beside the bin. 'I don't know who it was, it wasn't me,' replied the accused. In a further interview on January 27, 2022, it was put to the accused that when he knew Jozef had murdered Ms Murphy, he 'bundled him up and sent him to Dublin' before giving instructions to dispose of the clothes. The accused denied this and also denied that he had asked anyone to dispose of the knife. The trial continues tomorrow before Ms Justice Caroline Biggs and a jury of seven men and five women.
