CCTV shows similar car near O'Reilly home

CCTV footage shows a car matching the description of Joe O'Reilly's Fiat Marea near the O'Reilly home on the morning of the murder…

CCTV footage shows a car matching the description of Joe O'Reilly's Fiat Marea near the O'Reilly home on the morning of the murder, a jury in the Central Criminal Court heard today.

It was the 16th day of the trial of Mr O'Reilly (35) of Lambay View, Baldarragh, Naul, Co Dublin who has pleaded not guilty to murdering his 30 year-old wife, Rachel O'Reilly, at the family home on October 4th 2004.

Det Gda Sean Fitzpatrick told prosecuting counsel Mr Dominic McGinn BL that he spent 'weeks' viewing 119 separate pieces of CCTV footage from around the city centre and north Co Dublin.

He said he did this to see whether Mr O'Reilly or a car matching the description of his navy-coloured Fiat Marea estate, could be seen at various places during the day of the murder.

READ MORE

He said a camera placed at the entrance to Murphy's Quarry, down the road from the O'Reilly home, primarily covered the site entrance, but also showed some of the public road, where vehicles could be seen travelling past.

The O'Reilly home was not viewable from the footage but he said it was some distance behind the camera.

When he looked at the CCTV footage from this camera, he saw what he believed to be Rachel O'Reilly's Renault Scenic car heading south and going away from the house at 09:03:30.

The next relevant car was at 09:10:32, when he saw what he believed to be a navy-coloured estate car heading towards the O'Reilly household.

At 09:41:21, he again saw the car he believed to be Rachel O'Reilly's pass the quarry in the direction of the house.

Some 18 minutes later, at 09:59:22, he said: "I observed what I believed to be a navy coloured estate car pass by the quarry heading south going away from the O'Reilly house."

Seven minutes later, at 10:07, a car matching that description was seen on different CCTV footage at Blake's corner, travelling south.

The next time he saw a car matching that description from footage at the Murphy's Quarry was later that afternoon, at 14:13:13, going in the direction of the house.

Referring to Mr O'Reilly's movements earlier that morning, he said CCTV footage at Viacom, the outdoor advertising company where he worked in Bluebell Industrial Estate, showed Mr O'Reilly first arrive in work at 07:37:50 and leave again at 08:07:52.

Det Gda O'Sullivan was also asked about the CCTV footage in relation to mobile phone analysis.

He agreed with Mr McGinn that footage showed Mr O'Reilly's car leaving the industrial estate at 08.12 and that when a call was made from Nikki Pelley's phone to Mr O'Reilly at 08:12:57, the signal from his phone was picked up by a mast in Chapelizod, just north of the industrial estate.

Referring to footage which showed a car matching the description of Mr O'Reilly's passing Blake's Cross at 08:55, he agreed that a mast at Richardstown, just north of Blake's cross, picked up Mr O'Reilly's mobile phone signal when he received a call from Mr Quearney's phone at 08:56:31.

He also agreed that when a text was sent from Mr O'Reilly's phone to Rachel O'Reilly at 10:07:30, a mast in Richardstown picked up the signal from his phone.

He said by the time Mr O'Reilly received a text delivery acknowledgement, his phone was routed through a transmitter further south at Balheary, which pointed north.

He then agreed with Mr McGinn that the court had already heard evidence showing the 'borderline' between the Richardstown and Balheary masts is the area around Blake's Cross.

Prosecution evidence is expected to finish tomorrow before Mr Justice Barry White and a jury of nine men and two women.