A Limerick man accused of murder walked free from court today after the sixth prosecution witness denied making a statement identifying the accused man as the killer.
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Mr Liam Keane
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Liam Keane (19) grinned and hugged relatives as he left the Central Criminal Court. Trial judge Mr Justice Carney said he has never before encountered "the likes of what happened in this case".
Mr Keane had denied the murder of Eric Leamy, also 19, in Limerick in 2001.
Referring to the prosecution witnesses, Justice Carney warned of the possibility of a "plethora of successful prosecutions" arising out of this trial. He ordered that the entire transcript of this and an earlier, related, trial be forwarded to the DPP.
The DPP directed that a nolle prosequi be entered when key prosecution witness, Roy Behan, denied making statements identifying Liam Keane as the man who stuck the knife into the deceased Eric Leamy. The witness accepted he was a close friend of MrLeamy and that he carried his coffin at his funeral.
Questioned by prosecution counsel Shane Murphy SC, he further accepted that he was with the deceased earlier on the night of the killing and that he took his dying friend to hospital. However, he denied telling gardai he saw Liam Keane at the scene orthat he saw "Liam Keane stick the knife into Eric Leamy just above his right hip."
Mr Behan claimed he could not remember events leading up to the killing because, he said, "I was out of my head" with drink and dope.
Releasing the jury, the judge said: "The likes of what has happened in this case has never, I can assure you, been encountered in this court before."
He told jurors they did not hear that, during the trial, there was "violence" and "some suspicious comings and goings in and out of court" which may have breached an order of the court.
Referring to the earlier related trial -the killing of Mr Johanthan Edwards, Justice Carney continued: "It came to me that I had tried another case arising out of the death of the unfortunate Mr Leamy. My recollection is that nobody had a failure ofmemory," in that case.
"I have already directed that the transcript of this trial be given to the DPP. I'm also directing that the evidence in the other trial be made available to the DPP" to see if there existed a "divergence as to what was said on oath on that occasion".
The DPP, he added, "is obviously going to investigate" the circumstances in which prosecution witnesses denied their garda statements in the trial.Justice Carney warned that there "could very well be a plethora of successful prosecutions yet to come arising out of these events".
During the course of the trial, the jury heard that Eric Leamy was stabbed to death in a row over the ill-treatment of a dog by Jonathan Edwards, said in court to be a friend of Liam Keane. Mr Edwards was killed the following day. Another Limerick manwas tried and acquitted of his murder.
During three full days of evidence in the Liam Keane trial, six prosecution witnesses were declared hostile and one held in contempt of court after changing their proposed evidence or refusing to testify. Three were held in custody for a number of hoursbut later released after what Mr Justice Carney described as "collective amnesia". He warned two of the witnesses they would receive brain scans and whatever medical help was necessary to help their memory loss.
The judge also warned the witnesses they could face life imprisonment if they had committed perjury or alternatively, five years for giving gardai false information. However, following the warning all six repeated their sworn evidence either denying theymade statements incriminating the accused, or claiming they could not remember, citing drug abuse as the reason.
On Friday, Roy Behan failed to appear in court and there was evidence in the absence of the jury that he had been assaulted at a Limerick train station on route to Dublin.
When he appeared in court today Mr Behan denied telling gardai, in a signed statement of August 28th 2001, that he witnessed Liam Keane sticking a knife into Eric Leamy's side, above the hip. In his statement, he alleged there had been an argumentover a dog and that the accused first hit the deceased with a pallet with a nail before taking out a knife. "I can't remember making no statement," he repeatedly said when prosecuting counsel Shane Murphy SC put it to him that what he told gardai wasthe truth.
Various statements read to the jury suggested that the deceased man was not armed and that he had urged the accused to put away the knife before being stabbed. However, all six witnesses denied making the statements and therefore, could not be used inevidence. Justice Carney repeatedly reminded the jury that "not one sentence of evidence incriminating the accused" had been adduced in the course of the trial.
Mr Leamy's parents, Anthony and Geraldine were in court when the charges were dropped and were being comforted in the victim support room in the Four Courts.
When approached for a comment as to why the prosecution witnesses had changed their proposed evidence, Liam Keane said: "I am saying nothing" His mother, Margaret Keane, stood in front of her son and said: "leave him alone".
Because a nolle prosequi has been entered, no further prosecution may now be brought against Mr Keane unless fresh evidence emerges.
Liam Keane (19) of Singland Gardens, Ballysimon, Limerick, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Eric Leamy (19) of St Munchin's St, St Mary's Park, Limerick on 28th August 2001 at Lee Estate, Island Road, Limerick.