24-04-2025
Man charged over death of Willie Moorehouse was warned of threat to his life, court told
Kris Kiggins (32) with no fixed abode was arrested at Bray Garda Station at 1.50am this morning
A 32-year-old man has appeared before Bray District Court in relation to the death of Willie Moorehouse in Wicklow in January.
Kris Kiggins (32) with no fixed abode was arrested at Bray Garda Station at 1.50am this morning.
He was refused bail after a contested hearing before Judge David Kennedy who heard Mr Kiggins had been served with a Garda Information Message (GIM) form since the incident.
This is an official document which warns a person about a threat to their life.
He was charged with violent disorder and production of an article capable of inflicting serious injury.
Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by Detective Ryan O'Neill of Bray Garda Station who also outlined garda objections to Mr Kiggins being given bail.
Detective O'Neill told the court that he believed that Mr Kiggins 'was a danger to the public.'
Willie Moorehouse
He explained said that the evidence in the case would be that there was an arranged fight in the area at Ballywaltrim on Sunday January 19, where young children were present, and that there had been 13 people involved and the fight resulted in the death of Mr Moorehouse.
He said a number of weapons including knives, an axe, a baseball bat, golf club and other items were recovered by gardaí afterwards.
Describing it as an 'extremely violent' incident, the detective alleged that Mr Moorehouse was stabbed to death.
He said that some of the incident was caught on CCTV and alleged that a masked Mr Kiggins was captured brandishing a knife while wearing a distinctive track suit.
When he was first arrested in January he denied being in Bray on the day but later admitted being at the scene of the fatal fight.
However when shown CCTV footage by gardai he said that he was in possession of a screwdriver and not a knife.
Mr Kiggins is the fourth person to be charged in connection with the investigation into the death of Mr Moorehouse and there has been 13 arrests so far in total.
Earlier this month two men and a teenager were charged today at Arklow District Court as part of the investigation.
Yesterday Bray District Court heard the fight was part of 'ongoing tensions' between associates of Willie Moorhouse and people linked to Mr Kiggins.
Detective O'Neill explained that Mr Kiggins was arrested by appointment at Bray Garda Station yesterday but he was sought by gardai for the past week.
An operation was put in place last week he said in which the defendant's mother's home was searched but he was not present at that time.
'He was aware that we were looking for him,' the detective said.
No bail conditions offered by Mr Kiggins' defence counsel would satisfy the detective's objection to bail.
He was remanded in custody to appear before Bray District Court on May 1 via video link.
Earlier this month Patrick Fitzpatrick, James Fell, and the juvenile male (17) appeared before Arklow District Court amid heavy garda security.
Patrick Fitzpatrick (33), of Old Court in Bray, was charged with murder and violent disorder, while James Fell (24) of Fassaroe in Bray, and the juvenile male were charged with violent disorder and the production of articles capable of inflicting serious injury.
