The trial of the accused serial killer and former warrant officer in the French army Mr Pierre Chanal is scheduled to begin this morning at the Marne Assize Court, nearly 23 years after the first of eight young men believed to have been kidnapped and murdered by him disappeared, writes Lara Marlowe.
Mr Chanal (56) is charged with three murders, as there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him for the other five. An Irishman, Mr Trevor O'Keeffe, was among the three whose DNA matched hairs found on a mattress in Mr Chanal's van. Mr O'Keeffe's body was found, strangled, in a shallow grave in north-eastern France in August 1987. He was aged 19 and had been hitch-hiking back to Ireland.
His mother, Ms Eroline O'Keeffe, will be in court this morning, with her sister and Trevor's brother and two sisters. But Mr Chanal has told psychiatrists he is incapable of attending his own trial. He made a half-hearted attempt at suicide when his trial was initially scheduled to begin last May. He was brought from prison near Paris to Reims yesterday.
Council house refusal challenged
A Dublin woman has challenged Fingal County Council's refusal to allow her buy a house under the council's shared ownership/affordable housing scheme. She claims the refusal follows information given to the council of alleged anti-social behaviour.
Ms Elizabeth Roche, Kilbarron Avenue, Coolock, is seeking an order, by way of judicial review, quashing the council's refusal to proceed with the sale to her of a house in Barnewall Drive, Donabate, Co Dublin.
Welfare bonus will be paid
The Christmas bonus scheme for social welfare recipients will remain unaffected by any possible cutbacks in the forthcoming Budget, it has emerged.
There had been fears the 100 per cent bonus, which is paid in the first week of December, would be cancelled in the forthcoming estimates.
However, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, announced yesterday that she had secured agreement from her Cabinet colleagues that the full bonus would be paid again this year. She made the announcement at a pre-budget forum where non-governmental organisations presented their submissions.
Judge suspends rest of sentence
A man jailed for eight years in January 2000 for a series of robberies has had the balance of his sentence suspended by Judge Patrick McCartan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
In 2000 Judge McCartan described Raymond Roe (31), James Connelly Tower, Ballymun as a man with an anti-social personality disorder. Roe pleaded guilty to seven charges of robbery, larceny, assault and the harassment of gardaí in 1997-99.
Judge McCartan released him from custody on the basis of reports that Roe had made progress in custody and placed him under a bond to keep the peace in the next four years. He is also under probation supervision for two years.
Tax evader gets time to pay fine
A man who made large sums of money from running brothels has been given an extra 15 months to pay the balance of a €15,000 fine he received for evading tax. Tom McDonnell was jailed for 18 months in March 2002 - he was released last April - and fined £12,000 after accumulating a tax bill of nearly £2 million over an 11-year period.
McDonnell (52), Cooraclare, Co Clare, pleaded guilty to three counts of knowingly or wilfully failing to make tax returns and to three counts of making incorrect returns.