‘Strategic lies’ do not mean Aaron Connolly is guilty of murder, defence says

The jury in the trial of a 23-year-old man accused of murdering Cameron Reilly, whose body was found in a field in Dunleer, Co Louth four years ago, will resume their deliberations on Wednesday.

The jury began their deliberations at the Central Criminal Court Tuesday morning and had been deliberating for three hours and 13 minutes.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt sent them home just after 4pm after the foreman of the jury confirmed they had not yet reached a verdict in the trial of Aaron Connolly of Willistown, Drumcar, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Reilly (18) at Shamrock Hill, Dunleer on May 26th, 2018.

The teenager’s body was found in a field by a man out walking his dog on the morning of May 26th.

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Mr Justice Tony Hunt concluded his charge to the jury on Tuesday morning, telling the seven women and five men that they must be unanimous in whatever decision they reach.

He said the defence contends that sexual intimacy took place between Aaron Connolly and Cameron Reilly in the field and when Mr Connolly left, Mr Reilly was alive and well. He said the first part is accepted and told the jury that, if after careful examination and scrutiny they think it is reasonably possible the second part is true, then they must acquit.

Mr Justice Hunt said the prosecution case is that the sex, the DNA evidence and the lies are not a matter of coincidence but are all interlinked.

He said proof beyond reasonable doubt is required and if the jury believe the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, then they should find Aaron Connolly guilty of murder.

The judge told the jury he would make transcripts of the evidence of forensic scientist Dr Clara Boland and of Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan available to them and said if there was anything else they needed or any evidence they wish to revisit then they should let him know.

During the trial, the court heard that in his initial statement to gardaí, Mr Connolly said he and Mr Reilly went in different directions at the end of the night and after the pair parted he “never looked back” to see which way Cameron went.

Last Wednesday, December 7th, lawyers for Mr Connolly told the court the accused had oral sex with Mr Reilly on the night he was killed.

Counsel for the defence, Michael Bowman SC, said that there had been sexual contact between Mr Connolly and Mr Reilly on the night of the murder, with Mr Connolly pulling down Mr Reilly’s tracksuit bottoms and placing his penis in his mouth.

He said that Aaron Connolly performed oral sex on Cameron Reilly and when he left, Mr Reilly was still alive and standing up.

Dr Clara Boland gave evidence that an immunological test on a penile swab of Mr Reilly revealed human saliva that was a mixture of two people, the big sample being Mr Reilly’s own and the minor being an incomplete profile that matched Mr Connolly’s DNA.

The jury also heard evidence during the trial from State Pathologist Linda Mulligan who conducted the postmortem on Mr Reilly on May 26th, 2018.

She told the court that the cause of death was asphyxia due to external pressure on the neck with no other contributing factors.

The pathologist said during the postmortem she found evidence of external injury to the neck in the form of abrasions and bruising and there was also evidence of deep bruising around the neck and the hyoid bone.

“All of these features are in keeping with the application of external pressure on the neck. This was the cause of death,” she said. There were no obvious ligature marks or circular bruises identified, Dr Mulligan said, and the injuries sustained were more in keeping with a chokehold or the application of a rough surface implement to the neck.

In his closing statement to the jury, prosecuting counsel Dean Kelly SC contended Aaron Connolly had “lied from the beginning of this investigation to the end” because he murdered his friend.

He said the “constant fox-like evolution” of the lies told by Mr Connolly rebuts the suggestion that a young person might lie to protect his personal sexual preferences. He contended that “rationality, reason and intelligence” permits only one verdict in this case and that is guilty of murder.

In his closing statement to the jury, Michael Bowman SC, defending Mr Connolly, said “strategic lies” were told by several young people who were there on the night. He said people had lied about drug and alcohol use because they were afraid.

“Strategic lies are being told. I’m going to ask you to juxtapose them to show that in circumstances like that telling the truth can be difficult,” Mr Bowman said. “The defendant was 18, in a Garda station, locked in a cell when he’s not being interviewed by gardaí.”

Mr Bowman told the jury: “The law says the mere fact that the defendant lies is not evidence enough. They may lie out of panic and confusion; they may lie because they’re afraid for all sorts of reasons.”

He said if this case reduces itself to the propositions advanced by Mr Kelly, then the only verdict is not guilty.