Man loses High Court unlawful detention bid
The High Court has rejected claims that a man accused of murdering Christy Daly is being unlawfully detained on a holding charge to stop him fleeing the country.
Ross Allen of Kilmonaghan Lodge, Clara, Co Offaly is accused of killing the father of six whose remains were discovered in a drain on January 7.
Allen was charged last February with the murder of Christy Daly who gardaí believe was killed between Christmas Day and the New Year.
Lawyers for the 23-year-old have said since then there have been huge delays in preparing the book of evidence against their client who has been remanded in custody.
They have challenged the lawfulness of his detention on the ground there was evidence before a District Court sitting earlier this month that Allen was being kept on a holding charge simply to stop him fleeing the jurisdiction.
Dismissing the claim, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said he is absolutely certain the DPP brought the murder charge in good faith.
Hehas also found any delays in preparing the book of evidence can be explained by the complexity of this 'huge investigation' which involved 60 gardaí, 100 hours of CCTV footage and 355 witness statements.
