Latest news with #90Seconds
Sunday World
29-05-2025
- Sunday World
Man who killed Michael Barr in feud says court was wrong to dismiss eyewitness evidence
RIGHTS BREACHED | Counsel for David Hunter (46) also argued that Hunter's privacy rights had been breached by the introduction of mobile phone evidence during his trial. Michael Barr Counsel for David Hunter (46) also argued that Hunter's privacy rights had been breached by the introduction of mobile phone evidence during his trial, in which he was found guilty by the Special Criminal Court in September 2020. Liverpool native Hunter, with an address at Du Cane Road, White City, London, had denied the Kinahan Cartel murder of 35-year-old Michael Barr at the Sunset House pub in Dublin's north inner city on the night of April 25, 2016. At his trial before the non-jury, three-judge Special Criminal Court, Mr Justice Alexander Owens, presiding, sitting with Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge David McHugh, said that the evidence had been heard in a "compelling way" that Hunter was one of the two gunmen who entered the Summerhill pub and murdered Mr Barr by shooting him. Hunter's involvement in the murder had been "fully proved" and the court was "sure of his guilt", remarked Mr Justice Owens. The judge noted that the murderers had failed to burn out the getaway car, which had been abandoned at Walsh Road in Drumcondra a few minutes after the killing, and they had also dropped a burner phone at the getaway scene. He said the major part of a DNA profile taken from a ski mask recovered from the car during the investigation into the shooting of Mr Barr matched the profile of Hunter. Michael Barr News in 90 Seconds - May 29th In a voluntary statement to gardaí, Hunter said that the ski mask was his but that he had dropped it in a car driven by another man when he visited Ireland two months before the murder on a car-stealing exercise. Hunter also claimed he had used the mask on various ski trips with his children to Norway, France, Spain, Scotland, Austria and Switzerland. Mr Justice Owens said that the circumstantial evidence in the case "pointed inextricably" to Hunter's guilt and the facts taken together had established the father-of-five's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and no other rational explanation could be drawn. At the Court of Appeal today, Hunter's legal team argued that the trial court erred in rejecting the evidence of witnesses present in the Sunset House that said there was a difference in height between the two assailants who entered the pub and killed Mr Barr. Michael Bowman SC said that the trial court had set out that Hunter was being convicted because someone dropped a mobile phone at the scene and the car used by the gunmen failed to burn out, meaning that latex masks were not destroyed by the fire. Counsel said that a witness in the pub was very clear in the physical description he gave, identifying a distinction in height between the two men. This witness had said the gunman was wearing a ski mask under a latex mask, but Mr Bowman said the trial court had refused to acknowledge what the witness had seen. He said that this witness identified the gunman as being six feet one or two, while Hunter is five feet ten. Concerning the ski mask from which a DNA profile of Hunter was obtained, Mr Bowman said that in February 2016, Hunter 'on the spur of the moment' came to Ireland for a two-day period to steal cars, bringing the ski mask with him for this purpose. 'It's a very careless criminal who would leave his ski mask behind in a car that was stolen,' remarked Mr Justice John Edwards. Mr Bowman said that the ski mask was correctly observed by the witness in the pub, adding that Hunter does not conform with the height of the assailant given, which meant that there was potentially another individual who wore that mask. Read more Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy remarked that this would make Hunter 'a victim of coincidence' if he had left the mask in a car six weeks before, only for it then to turn up in a car used in a murder. 'Life is a series of unfortunate coincidences,' said Mr Bowman. Hunter's legal team also raised a ground of appeal concerning the mobile phones in the case, arguing that even if the appellant accepted or refused ownership of one of the phones, he was entitled to challenge the phone evidence on the basis of a breach of his privacy rights. It was submitted that the trial court erred in finding that the mere fact that the material in question may pertain to criminal activity meant it could not attract privacy rights. On behalf of the State, Dominic McGinn SC said that at the time of the trial, only two of those involved in the shooting were apprehended, while a third man had not been identified. He said that Hunter and co-accused Eamonn Cumberton were of the same height. Mr McGinn said that of the latex masks found in the car, each had a dominant DNA profile, with one that matched Hunter, one that matched Cumberton, and the last that matched the third man involved, Christopher Slator. He said that each DNA profile from these masks was paired to different items in the car, with Hunter's profile also found on the ski mask. 'The possibility that perhaps someone else picked it up and put it on, that would have required them to leave none of their profile on it,' said Mr McGinn. Concerning the admissibility of the phone evidence, Mr McGinn said there had been a vast change in the legal position concerning mobile phone data since then, but the investigation team could not be faulted for using the legislation at the time to get the information required. Mr Justice Edwards said the court would reserve judgement in the case. Hunter is one of three men to be found guilty of murdering dissident republican Michael Barr. In January 2018, Eamonn Cumberton, of Mountjoy Street, Dublin 7, was convicted of murdering the Tyrone native, while in July 2022, Christopher Slator, of Carnlough Road, Cabra, Dublin 7, was also convicted.
Sunday World
28-05-2025
- Sunday World
Dublin Bus mechanic caught stealing diesel and handing it over to roadside motorist
Eugene Nolan (30) was one of several workers charged A DUBLIN bus mechanic was caught stealing diesel from the company's vehicles and handing stolen fuel over to a motorist on a roadside. Eugene Nolan (30) was one of several workers charged after surveillance cameras at a city depot revealed that they were siphoning off fuel from buses. Adjourning the case for a restorative justice report, Judge Treasa Kelly said it was a 'complete breach of trust' to steal from an employer. Nolan, a father-of-two from Rathleash in Portarlington, Co Laois admitted handling €110 worth of stolen diesel at Killeen Road, Dublin 12 on June 10 last year. He also pleaded guilty to three thefts of fuel at the Conyngham Road bus depot, on July 4, 8 and 9 last year, totalling €772. Dublin District Court heard a bus inspector was driving on Killeen Road when he saw a bus parked at the side of the road and a plastic drum. He became suspicious and CCTV showed the accused driving it from the garage before meeting a Mercedes car. Nolan took three plastic barrels from the bus containing 75l of diesel worth €110 and handed them over to the driver of the Mercedes, who filled his car. Dublin Bus undertook an internal investigation into fuel theft at the depot, the court heard. A private investigation company was hired to carry out covert CCTV surveillance between July 4 and 11. Three people were seen siphoning diesel from buses and on three dates, Nolan loaded barrels into his car. Eugene Nolan News in 90 Seconds - May 28th A number of co-accused had since been before the court over the thefts and Nolan was one of the first to be caught, his solicitor Paddy McGarry said. It 'became known to Dublin Bus that it was something that was ongoing,' he said. Nolan had been working at the company for 12 years and lost his job as a result of the thefts. He had a cocaine problem at the time but was now clean, Mr McGarry said. His only prior offence was holding a mobile phone while driving and Mr McGarry asking the judge not to convict Nolan of the thefts. He brought €800 in compensation to court. Judge Kelly noted the accused had already paid a high price for his actions. She was not sure that she could leave him without convictions but deferred finalising the case and ordered a restorative justice report. Nolan was remanded on continuing bail to appear in court again on July 14.
Sunday World
28-05-2025
- Sunday World
Gardaí search new location over 1996 murder of missing woman Fiona Pender
Ms Pender was and seven months pregnant when she went missing from her flat on Church Street, Tullamore, in August 1996. Missing Fiona Pender and the scene of the search Gardaí are searching a second location in relation to the 1996 disappearance and presumed murder of Fiona Pender. In a statement on Wednesday, the force said that after searches in Co Offaly earlier this week, they were now searching in another area over the border in Co Laois. "Gardaí investigating the disappearance and murder of Fiona Pender in August 1996 have today, Wednesday 28th May 2025, commenced another search operation on open ground at a location in Co. Laois. This area of land will be searched and subject to excavation, technical and forensic examinations,' the force said. The scene of the search. Photo: Padraig O'Reilly 'This search forms part of a sustained investigation carried out by Gardaí in Laois/ Offaly Garda Division over the last 28-years to establish Fiona's whereabouts and to investigate the circumstances in which Fiona disappeared.' The search of a remote area of bogland in rural Co Offaly in relation to the disappearance of Ms Pender (25) ended on Tuesday as gardaí hoped for a breakthrough in the nearly 29-year investigation. Missing Fiona Pender and the scene of the search News in 90 Seconds - May 28th Ms Pender was and seven months pregnant when she went missing from her flat on Church Street, Tullamore, in August 1996. Gardaí announced on Monday that an area of land at Graigue, close to the village of Killeigh, around 8km from Tullamore, would be searched as the investigation into Ms Pender's disappearance was upgraded to one of murder. The examination of the land finished yesterday afternoon. It is understood gardaí received new information deemed credible enough to warrant the latest search and the upgrading of the investigation. Fiona Pender has been missing since 1996 The land being searched was in a remote bog overgrown with trees and vegetation, accessible only by potholed dirt roads. A cordon was placed on the access tracks, and a no-fly zone was established above the dig site to prevent drone use while the search took place. In an update on Tuesday afternoon, gardaí said: 'Gardaí investigating the disappearance and murder of Fiona Pender have concluded the search operation on open ground at a location in Co Offaly. 'The results of the searches are not being released for operational reasons. An Garda Síochána have updated the family on any developments. Investigations are ongoing.' Local people said they hoped the search would yield something that might bring some closure to the Pender family and that Tullamore, and the surrounding townlands had been living under a cloud since Ms Pender disappeared. Sinn Féin councillor Aoife Masterson, who was eight years old when Ms Pender was reported missing, said the event had shaped her life and the lives of women in the town. Gardaí search for the remains of missing Fiona Pender. Photo: Frank McGrath 'I grew up hearing prayers being said for her at mass. I remember the posters in shops and on poles fading as the years passed and falling off,' she said. 'And then in 2022 there was the murder of Ashling Murphy along the canal, not far from where the monument to Fiona stands on the canal bank. There really is an issue with violence against women in Tullamore and in wider Ireland. It's just shocking. 'Some things shape who you are as a young woman, and Fiona's disappearance has left its mark on the town. It's appalling. 'It has really stayed with me and I've devoted my life to those who aren't heard or whose voices have been silenced. 'Now that the investigation has been upgraded to murder, maybe there will be more resources put into it that might move things along, or that might encourage someone to come forward with information. 'There is the hope that whatever information gardaí are working from is significant and can bring answers. 'In relation to searches for Fiona, we've been here several times before in that we are waiting for answers. If we get answers, it won't be without pain. It is heartbreaking.'
Sunday World
20-05-2025
- Sunday World
Pathologist could not determine Tina Satchwell's cause of death due to state of remains
'The body was wrapped in what appeared to be a soiled sheet. Bones could be protruding from the sheet from the lower end of the body.' A pathologist was unable to determine a cause of death for Tina Satchwell (45) because of the skeletonised and badly decomposed condition of her remains which were excavated from underneath the stairs of her Cork home over six years after she vanished. Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told the Central Criminal Court murder trial of Richard Satchwell (58) that she performed a post mortem examination on Ms Satchwell's remains at the Cork University Hospital (CUH) morgue on October 12/13, 2023. This was after her body was fully excavated from a clandestine grave at her Youghal home. "The cause of death, due to the very long post mortem interval, could not be determined. The cause of death is undetermined," she said. Dr Bolster was giving evidence on the 15th day of Mr Satchwell's murder trial in Dublin. Mr Satchwell has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife Tina at a time unknown on March 19/20 2017 at his home at Grattan Street in Youghal, Co Cork contrary to Common Law. Tina Satchwell. News in 90 Seconds - May 20th Mr Satchwell appeared in court today wearing navy slacks, a red T-shirt and blue jumper. Dr Bolster confirmed she was asked to attend Number Three, Grattan Street in Youghal by Gardai after the discovery of human remains on October 11, 2023. "I was asked to attend the scene in Youghal, Co Cork which I did with forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley. I spent the day and the evening there examining the remains," she said. "We started the post mortem examination that evening (October 12) and finished the following morning (October 13). "Present at the post mortem was Dr Buckley, Kevin Lynch an anatomy technician, Det Sgt Shane Curran, Det Garda Mairead Crowley, Det Garda Karen McCarthy and Det Garda Brian Barry." Dr Buckley said the remains were skeletal in nature. The medical history of Ms Satchwell given to her was that she was in good general health before March 2017. She said the remains were in a hole or grave in the ground underneath stairs, to a depth of 62cm. "The house was in a state of long-standing disarray. "The body was received in a black body bag and was wrapped in black plastic (at the scene). "Another layer of black plastic was around the body when it was found. The body was wrapped in what appeared to be a soiled sheet. Bones could be protruding from the sheet from the lower end of the body. "The body had been lying face down. "The body was dressed in a dressing gown and a Playboy purse was found in the front pocket." She said the remains were placed on the morgue examination table in exactly the same position in which it was lying in the ground. An examination of the purse at the CUH morgue found it contained a number of identity and loyalty cards in the name of Tina Mary Satchwell. "Following rotation of the body onto its back, a skull with head hair attached could be seen protruding from the sheet. "The right arm was flexed and the right arm was over the left upper thorax. The elbow of the left arm was red nail polish could be seen on the fingernails. "I cut the dressing gown belt to remove the dressing gown so as the bones of the ribs would not fall apart. The belt was not cut before." A brief video was played to the jury in which a Garda demonstrated on his own body the precise way in which the dressing gown belt was found on the remains. It was around the upper chest and then diagonally over the left shoulder, knotted in the front. Photographs of the badly stained dressing gown belt found on the remains were also shown to the jury. The belt was not threaded through the loops on the dressing gown. "The upper dressing gown was disintegrated and multiple bones of the vertebrae were visible. "The next layer of clothing appeared to be pyjamas… it showed butterflies to the front… with a logo of 'some bunny loves me'." Photographs of the pyjamas were also shown to the jury. "Distal to the collarbone was a tattoo of what looked like a Tweetie bird. "The skull was separated from the rest of the body and the upper neck bone could be seen still attached to the skull. "The skull was decapitated or separated from the body as a result of decomposition. "There was also mummified tissue which occurs in a dry environment." Richard Satchwell at Youghal Harbour near his home on Grattan Street Dr Bolster said she noted pieces of glass on the body, on both the arms and on the head. "Four pieces of glass were taken from the scalp. "A belly button bar, or body piercing, could be seen. "The hyoid bone - a little bone like a chicken wishbone - was seen. Both legs were flexed or bent and the lower leg bones were exposed, all soft tissue was gone. "The pelvis on the left side was exposed. Both femurs were exposed by loss of tissue at the back. "The fingers were flexed and nails had fallen off the fingers during appeared to be false nails. "No damage to the fingers could be identified." Dr Buckley, the forensic anthropologist, examined the bones. "I couldn't identify any marks externally because of the length of time post mortem and the scale of skeletonisation," Dr Bolster said. She added that pathologists first look for external marks to the body for clues as to the cause of death. "Because of the length of the post mortem interval here I was unable to do that." "There were no organs remaining… I could not do that (examination). We (normally) look at the brain, the heart, the lungs, the look at any pathology that could offer a cause of death. None of that was available to us." Dr Bolster said an examination of remaining tissue samples showed no indication of haemorrhage. She then looked for trauma to the remains. "There was no evidence of any fractures to the bones. X-rays of the hands were carried out and showed no evidence of fractures. "The cause of death, due to the very long post mortem interval, could not be determined. The cause of death is undetermined." Ms Satchwell's partially skeletonised body was discovered six and a half years after she vanished following an invasive four day Garda search of the Youghal home from October 10-12, 2023. Gardaí had checked the property in June 2017 but it was not an invasive search. Mr Satchwell replied to Gardaí when first charged with the murder of his wife at Cobh Garda Station in October 2023: "Guilty or not guilty - guilty." The Leicester-born truck driver has claimed his wife attacked him with a wood chisel - and, after falling to the ground, he defended himself by holding her away from him by the rope belt of her dressing gown. This somehow came up around her neck and she went limp. Her body was temporarily stored in a chest freezer before she was buried in a clandestine grave he had excavated underneath the stairwell of her home. Mr Satchwell repeatedly claimed to Gardaí that his wife regularly beat him and left him with bruises, cuts, bite marks, swellings and, on two occasions, he claimed she had knocked him unconscious. The trial - now in its fourth week before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven women and five men - is expected to run until June 5/6. The trial continues.
Sunday World
20-05-2025
- Sunday World
Man injured in machete attack at garage owned by member of infamous Scottish feud gang
The Daniel clan has been locked in a violent power battle with their deadly enemies, the Lyons gang, which has been fuelled by the Kinahan cartel The feud has been fuelled by the Kinahan cartel, led by Daniel Kinahan, it has been claimed A man has been seriously injured in a machete attack at a car garage owned by a member of the Scottish Daniel crime clan The incident at gangland figure Robert Daniel's car garage in East Kilbride on Monday is just the latest in an apparent escalation of a simmering gang war. Images published by the Daily Record show police and an ambulance at the 50-year-old's accident repair shop as officers search through two vehicles parked outside. The Daniel clan has been locked in a violent power battle with their deadly enemies, the Lyons gang, which has been fuelled by the Kinahan Cartel. According to the Daily Record, the Daniel crime clan has also been targeted by Dubai-based gangster Ross 'Mr Big' McGill who has been waging war on them since March. The feud spread to Glasgow when the Daniel mob became targets because of their close association with Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson who ripped Mr Big off in a £500k cocaine deal. The garage is owned by gangland figure Robert Daniel News in 90 Seconds - May 20th Ex-Rangers ultra McGill has reportedly offered £100,000 bounties on his top targets, a source told the Record. One Daniel family boss, Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel, only returned to Glasgow last week after fleeing Scotland when he was targeted by McGill's enforcers, who call themselves Tamo Junto (TMJ) Earlier this month, the home of Bonzo's cousin Kelly 'Bo' Green, was attacked in the early hours of Tuesday, May 13. Kelly (45), the daughter of late kingpin Jamie Daniel is the widow of crime gang enforcer Kevin 'the Gerbil' Carroll who was infamously shot dead in an Asda car park in Robroyston in 2010. It has been reported that nobody was injured in the incident at the house on Drumchapel Road, however, images taken at the scene by Glasgow Live show black scorch marks on the property. Gerbil was a main enforcer for Scotland's Daniel crime clan who have been locked in a bitter two-decade long feud with their rivals in the Lyons gang. The Lyons crime gang have strong ties with the Kinahan Cartel that were forged on Spain's Costa Del Sol in the 2010s. The slain Scottish mob enforcer Kevin 'The Gerbil' Carroll Before his violent death, the Gerbil had been involved in so-called alien abductions, where his crew used a blowtorch and boiling water to torture victims before stealing drugs, money and weapons from them. An underworld source told the Daily Record that Kelly and Gerbil's youngest son was believed to have been in the house when it was torched. 'All the Daniel family remain priority targets despite their attempt to broker a peace deal at the weekend,' this source said. 'But this particular attack will have made a lot of people smile all across Scotland. "Gerbil was a bully and a thief and made so many enemies so a lot of people will be happy to see this happen. Kelly isn't well liked either and has a horrible attitude, like the rest of them.' Last month, it emerged how the Kinahan cartel was fuelling the deadly gangland war in Scotland's underworld. Following a slew of firebombs and shootings in Edinburgh targeting Richardson's empire, sources told the Daily Record newspaper that the Kinahan cartel was linked to the attacks via their Scottish associates, including head of the Lyons crime family, Steven Lyons. The 47-year-old, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, reportedly attended Daniel Kinahan's lavish Burj-al Arab Hotel wedding in 2021. Kinahan and Lyons fell out in summer of 2001 when a large stash of Kinahan cocaine was stolen from a house in the Milton area of Glasgow and sold to the Lyons. It was previously reported how Lyons, who is in debt to the Kinahans, was growing ever paranoid about his inner circle and made his cronies take lie detector tests. The feud has been fuelled by the Kinahan cartel, led by Daniel Kinahan, it has been claimed The 44-year-old hired a lie detection expert to conduct polygraph tests on gang members after a house linked to the Glasgow mobster was robbed of drugs worth £500,000. Sources told The Sun Lyons is 'on edge' over a series of thefts and police busts that have left him racking up debts with the notorious Irish cartel. In the wake of a series drugs raids, Lyons forced them to take lie detectors tests In a bid to weed out traitors. The Lyons stash house was robbed of £500,000 of drugs in November just weeks after cops reportedly seized millions of pounds of drugs in Glasgow. Six masked men had forced their way into the property in Moodiesburn, Lanarkshire, before making off with a huge cannabis haul. In May 2022, Scottish MP Russell Findlay described how the Kinahan crime cartel, that had just been sanctioned by the US Government, was working in partnership with the feared Glasgow-based Lyons gang. The former crime journalist revealed how the Kinahans were described as almost a "Scottish-Irish mob" as the connections were so strong between them. In October 2022, senior crime buster Gerry McLean, claimed that dismantling the Kinahan cartel from the top would help reduce gangland activity in Scotland. McLean, Regional Head of Investigations at the National Crime Agency, said that focusing on the Irish mob's leading figures would have a 'much greater impact' than targeting smaller groups associated with the Kinahans.
