Murder accused told gardaí he witnessed friend being stabbed

Murder accused Stephen Penrose told gardaí that he witnessed his friend, whose decapitated remains were discovered in a shallow grave, being stabbed in the back during an attack by a group of men.

Mr Penrose (38), of Newtown Court, Malahide Road, Coolock, Dublin 17, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Philip Finnegan (24) at Rahin Woods, Rahin, Edenderry, Co Kildare on August 10th, 2016.

The trial has heard that Mr Finnegan was missing for just over three weeks before a dog walker and his two pets found his remains buried in a shallow grave in the woods on September 2nd, 2016.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster has testified that Mr Finnegan’s remains were found in the grave and attempts had been made to burn his body. In the her view, Mr Finnegan’s death was caused by multiple stab wounds to the body, including two fatal ones to his liver and aorta.

A forensic scientist told the jury last week that a DNA profile generated from a bloodied glove discovered near the remains matched the DNA of Mr Penrose.

Giving evidence on Monday, Insp Aidan Hannon told Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that the fourth interview after Mr Penrose was rearrested took place on November 17th, 2016 at Leixlip Garda station.

Insp Hannon agreed with Mr Grehan that the accused had produced a written account in an interview on November 16th, which he read to gardaí.

“I had nothing to do with Philip’s killing. All this had nothing whatsoever to do with me and that’s why I tried to distance myself from it,” he told them.

Withholding information

The court has heard that Mr Penrose was first arrested on August 31st, 2016 for withholding information in relation to a serious assault on Mr Finnegan and interviewed on 10 occasions at Kilmainham station. He was released on September 2nd, when Mr Finnegan was still considered a missing person.

Insp Hannon on Monday agreed with Mr Grehan that the accused’s account on November 17th gave a “new suggested location” as to where he had last seen Mr Finnegan.

Recalling the different versions of where the accused maintained he had last seen his friend, Mr Grehan said Mr Penrose initially said it was on the outskirts of Kilcock, Co Kildare, then on the road leading up to a house in Clonuff, Co Kildare, subsequently “it moved down towards a crossroads which intersected with a road towards Clonuff and Broadford” and then the accused suggested in his written statement that it was “somewhere near Edenderry”.

Paramedic Terry Devine has given evidence of Mr Penrose having a stab wound to the inside of left arm when he examined him in Kilcock on August 10th at 6.45pm.

The accused had told gardaí that he and Mr Finnegan met a number of men in a black car earlier that day. Mr Penrose maintained that a man stabbed him in the arm through the driver’s window before Mr Finnegan was “bundled” into the black car. The accused said he then drove off at speed.

In his fourth interview, gardaí put it to Mr Penrose that the only thing he varied in his written statement was where he said he had last seen Mr Finnegan.

“Why did you hide the truth of where it happened, why didn’t you tell us where it happened on the first day,” the accused was asked.

“Cause I feared for my life...I had no involvement in this, it has nothing to do with me, it’s f**k all to do with me,” replied Mr Penrose.

Protecting family

Gardaí pressed the accused as to why he had not given the location of Edenderry in his first interview.

“I had to protect my life and my family’s life, that’s why,” he said. “I told you things I didn’t have to tell you. I told you about the car. I don’t have to tell you about nothing.

“Me and Philip have a lot of mutual friends. I’m not giving an account of what happened. Some of his friends know some of my friends. There is a lot of s**t going on. I’ve given an account of what happened that day. We only went down the country to meet friends, a lot of shit happened. I got stabbed in the car and took off in the car and that’s all I know.”

Officers told the defendant that he could “clear the waters” for them.

“I got attacked on a back road, that’s all I can tell you. I can’t tell you anymore, I’ve put it down in writing,” said Mr Penrose.

In the fifth interview, detectives asked Mr Penrose if he knew where Mr Finnegan’s body was buried.

“I certainly do not,” he replied.

The accused told gardaí that he did not know who had stabbed him from the car despite originally telling Insp Hannon in Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown on August 10th that he did know.

“My head was mush, I don’t know who stabbed me,” he added. “The first I heard of Philip missing is when police came over to me three days later in hospital, when I first realised something serious was after happening.”

When asked why he had got rid of his clothes in hospital on August 10th, Mr Penrose said: “I didn’t, my clothes were cut off me in hospital. I’d to get my father to drop me in a new set of clothes. I haven’t got or tried to destroy anything, I was in a nightgown, you know what I mean.”

DNA on glove

In the eight interview, gardaí told Mr Penrose that his DNA was on the gardening glove found in a hole beside the shallow grave where the deceased’s remains were burned and buried.

“This is a left-handed glove, which wrist did you injure?” asked a garda.

“The left hand,” he replied.

Gardaí told the accused: “Do you wish to tell us the truth, here is your left-handed glove full of your blood. You murdered him, you buried him and burned him. Your DNA is in that glove. There is no getting away from it. This is going no-where. This damns you. Tell us what happened up in those woods”.

Mr Penrose later said: “I didn’t kill Philip. I wasn’t near where he was buried. I’ve nothing whatsoever to do with this.”

The accused was asked by gardaí if he had anything else to tell them before they turned off the tape recorder.

Mr Penrose said he had met a group of “fellas” he did not know at a house “down there” to test firearms.

“It wasn’t at a forest. It was at a house, we were meant to meet two fellas. Two other fellas came running out of nowhere and stabbed us. I seen him bent over and seen your man stabbing him in the back. Philip jumped up and got them off him and I seen him running up steps towards the caravan,” he said.

The trial continues.