Garda statements to the Inquest into the 1996 death of Raphoe cattle dealer Richard Barron revealed today that the scene was not preserved at the time and potentially crucial evidence was not retained.
On the second day of the inquest at Letterkenny Court further evidence was heard from local people who had seen Barron (54) at 12.30 a.m. on the morning of October 14th, 1996 staggering through Raphoe and having to hold on to a wall with his hands.
The ambulance team who attended the scene where Barron's body was found at The Common, Raphoe at around 1 a.m. described not seeing any debris or glass on the road and this was confirmed by the gardaí who attended the scene.
Gardai James McBirney and James McDwyer of Lifford station went to the scene in Raphoe at around 1.20 a.m.
Garda McDwyer statement read: "I saw a large pool of blood on the road and a white blanket in the hedge. It started to rain heavily. There was nothing present to indicate a vehicle, no tyre marks or impact debris.
"I found a piece of human skin with hair attached 5 feet from the pool of blood on the Letterkenny side of the blood mass."
However no one lifted this piece of skin and all four gardai left the scene when they were informed that Mr Barron was pronounced dead in Letterkenny General Hospital.
Mr Donagh McDonagh SC, for the Barron family, asked Garda McDwyer had he not considered preserving the scene. He replied that Garda Mulligan would have been the member on duty and the member in charge and it would have been Raphoe gardaí's responsibility.
Garda McDwyer described being "non plussed" that there was no debris on the road and described as "inconclusive" what had happened to Mr Barron.
The morning after Mr Barron was found on the roadside Sgt Niall Cody, a qualified crime scene examiner, was sent to where Mr Barron died.
Sgt Coady said: "I gather the road was cleaned before my arrival. There was a lot of water on one particular section and it had been swept".
He cleared people from the scene and carried out a forensic examination collecting flecks of paint, a particle of glass and strands of hair with follicles attached.
These particles and Mr Barron's clothes together with an aluminum pipe and two sticks later found at the scene were forwarded to garda HQ for forensic examination.