Accused joined in search for boy

The young man accused of murdering 11-year-old Robert Holohan was a next-door neighbour of the Midleton schoolboy and actually joined with volunteers in the search for him on several occasions after he disappeared on January 4th this year, the Central Criminal Court in Cork heard yesterday.

Prosecution counsel, Shane Murphy outlined the background to the court case, explaining that the O'Donoghues and the Holohans lived just 18.28m (60ft) apart in neighbouring houses at Ballyedmond in Midleton, Co Cork.

Mr Murphy said when Robert disappeared on the afternoon of January 4th, 2005, after going out for a cycle on his new bike, his parents became worried as he was afraid of the dark and his mother, Majella rang the O'Donoghues to know if they had seen him.

"Mrs Holohan rang a number of neighbours, including the O'Donoghues and Wayne answered. She asked him had he seen Robert and he replied that he had not seen him recently though he had seen him earlier in the day," said Mr Murphy.

Mr Murphy said that the jury will also hear evidence from Mrs Holohan that she asked Wayne O'Donoghue to identify Robert's BMX bike when it was found by another neighbour and that several witnesses would testify how Mr O'Donoghue participated in several searches.

Robert's disappearance triggered a search of the east Cork area and the jury will hear how Garda experts used mobile phone technology to trace Robert's new mobile phone and concentrate their search in the Whitegate area on January 12th, said Mr Murphy.

Evidence will also be given by two searchers, Tom Deeley and Martin Sloane on how they found Robert's body suspended from briars after Mr Sloane cleared away some undergrowth from an area of scrubland at Ballintra East near Inch strand near Whitegate at around 2pm that day.

Mr Murphy said that the State will establish that Robert's body was suspended upside down in the briars with his legs up towards the sky and his head, which was covered in a plastic bag, pointing down into the glen.

One of Robert's runners was in the black plastic bag over his head while the other was some feet away, while gardaí also found a number of other plastic bags in the area including a white Killeen refuse sack similar to those found later in a search of the O'Donoghue house.

A Technical Bureau forensic expert, Det Gda Pat O'Brien examined this white plastic bag and found that it contained two fingerprints belonging to Wayne O'Donoghue, said Mr Murphy.

He said the jury will also hear evidence from State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy that she found deep soft tissue bruising on Robert's neck and at the back of his throat consistent with him being strangled manually.

Mr Murphy said that Prof Cassidy will also testify that she found small haemorrhage marks behind the ears and such marks require some 15 to 30 seconds of compression of the neck to occur.

He added that she will also say that she found minor marks to the underside of Robert's ribcage and she will suggest that Robert's ribcage may have suffered these injuries either by somebody putting their arms around his trunk or by sitting astride his chest.

The jury will also hear that Robert had a minor injury to his mouth consistent with being slapped or with somebody putting their hand over his mouth as well as minor bruises to his scalp, lower back and buttocks.