Court sees CCTV footage of Dwyer and O’Hara

The Central Criminal Court has been shown CCTV footage of Graham Dwyer and Elaine O'Hara on July 9th, 2012, entering her apartment building together.

Shortly after 5pm they entered the lobby at Belarmine Plaza and got into the lift. Mr Dwyer left the building alone 40 minutes later.

Mr Dwyer and Ms O’Hara are also seen leaving and entering the building separately on different dates between January and August 2012.

On August 13th and 15th, Mr Dwyer is also seen on the CCTV footage from Belarmine carrying a rucksack.

The court was shown alongside the footage a photograph of a rucksack, numbered exhibit 58, recovered from the Vartry reservoir in October 2013.

The trial of Mr Dwyer, for the alleged murder of childcare worker Elaine O’Hara in 2012, is in the ninth day before the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

Mr Dwyer (42), with an address at Kerrymount Close in Foxrock, Co Dublin, is charged with murdering Ms O’Hara, aged 36, in Co Dublin on August 22nd, 2012. He has pleaded not guilty.

Ms O’ Hara’s remains were found in the Dublin Mountains on September 13th, 2013.

In court, Detective Sergeant Kevin Duggan gave evidence that he and his team had viewed hours of CCTV footage from Ms O’Hara’s apartment block at Belarmine Plaza in Stepaside, taken on dates from January 18th, 2012 until August 26th, 2012.

Det Duggan said the real-time footage was filmed in 24 hour-long segments for each day and that each hour had to be viewed as a separate file. As the extent of the video footage became evident, more members had to be added to the team to view it, the court heard.

About eight log books had been filled by gardaí with details of the various movements seen on the cameras. Det Sgt Duggan told the court he had met the accused on October 18th, 2013.

He agreed with prosecuting counsel that at that point gardaí were in a position to say where and when they had seen Mr Dwyer on the footage they had viewed.

The court was shown footage taken from several dates, beginning on January 21st 2012.

On that date, Elaine O’Hara is seen leaving the apartment block. At 2.17pm, Graham Dwyer is seen entering the building and entering the lift. He leaves 10 minutes later at 2.27pm.

Ms O’Hara enters the building at 4.57pm.

Mr Dwyer is seen entering the building on April 6th 2012, at 5.46pm and leaving by the staircase just a minute later. Ms O’Hara entered the building at 5.55pm on that evening.

On June 23rd, Ms O’Hara enters the complex alone. Mr Dwyer enters alone at 7.04pm. He leaves about a quarter of an hour later.

Mr Dwyer is also seen entering the Belarmine complex a few minutes after Ms O’Hara on the evening of June 26th, 2012. He enters at 5.36pm and leaves again at 6.29pm.

On July 9th, Ms O’Hara is seen on the footage leaving the building at 8.36am and returning at 3.33pm. She leaves the building again after checking the post box in the lobby at 3.46pm.

Just after 5pm on the same date, Mr Dwyer and Ms O’Hara are seen entering the building lobby together and then entering the lift. Mr Dwyer leaves alone almost 40 minutes later.

Footage from July 12th shows Mr Dwyer entering the building alone at almost 5.30pm, almost two hours after Ms O’Hara left it.

He appears to have a mobile phone in his hand. The court heard Mr Dwyer appeared to put that phone away and to remove a second phone from his jacket pocket as he entered the lift.

Mr Dwyer returns to the lobby just three minutes later and going to the post boxes in the lobby before leaving.

Ms O’Hara enters at 6.12pm on that date and goes to the post boxes. When she walks towards the lift she appears to be carrying a mobile phone, the court heard.

On August 13th, Mr Dwyer entered the apartment block at 8.02pm and left 10 minutes later carrying a red rucksack. The court was shown alongside it a photograph of the red rucksack recovered in the Vartry reservoir in October 2013.

Mr Dwyer enters the building again at 7pm on August 15th appearing to carry the same backpack. Ms O’Hara arrives at 7.36pm and Mr O’Hara leaves at 8.02pm carrying the rucksack.

In his direct evidence, Det Garda Duggan told the court he had viewed all the CCTV footage from that point up to August 26th. He agreed with prosecution counsel Seán Guerin that he had not seen the same backpack at any time after August 15th.

The court has also begun viewing the CCTV footage from August 22nd, the date on which Ms O’Hara disappeared. That footage has already been shown to the jury.

The trial continues.