Murder suspect's brother gives evidence
A Dublin man accused of murdering another man by shooting him in the back of the head looked like he had been out on drugs all night and was in the possession of a bag of cocaine and tablets before he was interviewed by gardaí, his older brother has told a jury at the Central Criminal.
John Kelly who works laying concrete floors was giving evidence on day 11 of the trial of Stephen Kelly (aged 22) from Balcurris Road in Ballymun who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 28-year-old Ian McConnell who was gunned down on the first floor landing of a block of flats at Shangan Road in north Dublin in the early hours of December 11, 2005.
John Kelly told defence barrister Ms Mary Ellen Ring SC that he called up to his sister Karen’s house on the afternoon of Sunday December 11th to tell his brother the gardaí were looking for him.
He said he then picked his brother up at around 3.30am to take him down to the station. Asked if he had seen something in Karen’s house in Ballymun, he said: "Even looking at Stephen you’d know he was on drugs because he was after being out all the night.
"He said I’ll go down and sit the section out. He showed me a bag of cocaine and tablets." He said his brother had gone into the toilet and he didn’t see what he did after that.
Under cross examination by prosecuting counsel Mr Michael O’Higgins SC, John Kelly agreed that his brother had not slept at his house that night but had dropped some clothes off to be washed on his way round to his sister Karen’s house.
He agreed that on Monday when the gardaí came looking for Stephen’s clothes, there were some already on the washing line. Asked if the gardaí had taken some of Mr Kelly’s clothes that were in a knotted plastic bag, including a tracksuit, he replied: “I don’t know what tracksuit was taken from where.”
The trial continues before Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins and the jury.
