Dwyer trial: defence concludes after three witnesses heard

The defence in the Graham Dwyer trial has concluded after hearing from three witnesses over 30 minutes on Wednesday morning.

The murder trial heard from a visitor to Shanganagh graveyard on the day Elaine O’Hara disappeared and from two sheep farmers.

Mary Crosbie, who was visiting her mother's grave on the day of the anniversary of her death – August 22nd 2012 – told the court she saw a "biggish" woman face down on the grass crying by a grave around the time Ms O'Hara was last seen.

Mr Dwyer (42), an architect from Kerrymount Close in Foxrock, is charged with murdering childcare worker Elaine O’Hara (36) on August 22nd, 2012. He has pleaded not guilty.

Ms O’Hara was last seen around Shanganagh graveyard at approximately 5.45pm on August 22nd, 2012. Her remains were found in forestry on Killakee Mountain, Rathfarnham, on September 13th, 2013.

The prosecution’s case – which alleged Mr Dwyer killed Ms O’Hara for his own sexual gratification – concluded on Friday. The jury this morning began hearing Mr Dwyer’s defence, which was concluded in approximately 30 minutes.

Mary Crosbie, who was visiting her mother’s grave on the day of the anniversary of her death – August 22nd 2012 – told the jury she recalled the day in question “quite clearly” in her mind.

She said her mother’s grave is in the St James’ section of Shanganagh Cemetary, which is “right up towards the end” meaning you have to pass through “almost all of” the graveyard to get to that section.

She also said she had a dog which she would walk through the graveyard. On the day in question, she said she went to walk the dog first, and then went to see her mother’s grave.

“It was definitely around the 5pm mark, but it could have been later,” she said.

“I would have stayed there. There are quite a few people I know buried there so I would track through the graves.”

Asked by Remy Farrell SC for the defence whether she noticed anything unusual that day, Ms Crosbie said: "Because it was late in the evening, there were very few people in there, but when I was heading back towards the car park I thought I heard somebody crying."

She said she thought it was “unusual” and walked towards the sound. She said she then saw a woman.

“I saw a woman facing down on the grass, on the edge of the grave,” she said. “She appeared to be very upset and she was crying very loudly.”

Mr Farrell asked Ms Crosbie to describe the woman. Ms Crosbie said she could only see the back of the woman but that she was “a biggish girl” with “mousey brown hair”.

Mr Farrell also asked what the woman was wearing, and Ms Crosbie said the woman had “very casual clothes” on.

“It was the runners that caught my eyes first of all,” she said, which had “white soles”. She added she could not see the rest of the runners due to the woman’s posture.

She also said the woman was wearing “dark pants” that seemed to be “a tracksuit but could have been jeans”. She was also wearing a “medium to light jacket”.

Ms Crosbie said she was “struck” by the fact that the grave wasn’t related to a recent bereavement.

“It wasn’t a new grave,” she said. “That’s what struck me. It wasn’t a recent bereavement.”

Over a year later, Ms Crosbie said she made a statement to gardaí in relation to the incident after reading an article in a Sunday newspaper in relation to Ms O’Hara’s disappearance.

Under cross-examination from Sean Guerin SC for the prosecution, Ms Crosbie was asked how much later than 5pm it could have been when she saw the woman.

She said it could not have been “much more than 5.30pm” as she went home and cooked dinner, and she would “normally eat around 6pm and I am only a short drive”.

She added: “I just thought it was all very strange.”

The next witness called by the defence was sheep farmer Richard O’Connor, who told the jury he owns land in Kilmurry South, Calary lower, in Co Wicklow.

Mr O’Connor said that Shankill Flying Club had permission to land and take off from four areas of the site.

He said he was approached by gardaí in October 2013 about a dead sheep.

“I was approached by gardaí from Shankill in relation to a dead sheep,” he said. “I knew nothing about it…I thought somebody had reported a dead sheep and maybe I was in trouble.”

Mr Farrell asked Mr O’Connor whether he was in a position to assist the detectives.

“Not really,” he said. “There was a possibility there was a dead sheep because there are rushes…a sheep might die.”

“Is that something that happens from time to time?” asked Mr Farrell.

“It does,” replied Mr O’Connor.

Mr Farrell asked what the cause of death might be for sheep generally.

“Well there could be damage when lambing and only later it would set in,” he said. He also said “parasites” or “deterioration” could cause the death of a sheep.

“Could a sheep get trapped sometimes?” asked Mr Farrell.

“Occasionally,” said Mr O’Connor, who added a sheep “could get trapped in the fencing” but that this would normally be noticed.

“Would you have taken note if a sheep died?” Mr Farrell asked.

“The trouble is if a sheep dies and more than two days passes, there is usually very little left,” he said. “When you eventually find it you just find the skeleton and the wool.”

He said the wool would be “spread when the predators come and tear it to bits”.

“That’s the first you know when a sheep has died,” he said, before adding that the wool would not degrade “for months”.

Under cross-examination from Mr Guerin, Mr O’Connor was asked whether it was possible whether one of his sheep or a stray sheep died in April 2011.

“If one died, it would have been my sheep,” he said, before adding: “I can’t say yay or nay to a sheep dying.”

The defence’s final witness was John Donohue, who is also a sheep farmer.

He told the court his farm is in Roundwood, Co Wicklow, “adjacent” to the flying club there.

He said he was approached by gardaí in May 2014 in relation to the death of a sheep in April 2011.

He told gardaí he couldn’t remember.

Asked what he would have normally done if a sheep of his had been killed, he said he would have had it taken away.

The defence has concluded its case and Mr Guerin will begin his closing statement for the prosecution on Thursday afternoon.