A DUBLIN man on trial for a double murder in the city two years ago confessed to gardaí he carried out the killings, a Central Criminal Court jury will hear.
Gary Howard (24), Emerald Street, Dublin, and Dunsoghly Grove, Finglas, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Patrick Mooney (58) and Brendan Molyneaux (46) at Pearse House, Dublin, on January 10th, 2010.
Opening the case, Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, told the jury the key evidence on which the State would seek to rely “came out of the mouth of the accused”, who, he contended, had confessed to the double murder.
Mr Molyneaux and Mr Mooney were shot in a city flat belonging to Mr Mooney. Both were pronounced dead after being brought to hospital. Mr Howard was arrested by gardaí after they forced their way into his Finglas home that night.
Mr Grehan said the prosecution would seek to prove Mr Howard carried out the fatal shootings of the friends at about 6.40pm that day, and that CCTV evidence placed him at the flat at that time with his father Peter Nalty and uncle Thomas Nalty (now deceased).
He said the jury would hear that in an interview at Kevin Street Garda station three days later, Mr Howard said he did not want to shoot the men, but was forced to after someone threatened to kill him and his child.
Mr Grehan said the jury would hear Mr Howard told detectives it was “either me or me children”, adding that someone had pointed a gun at him and his child and told him he had to shoot Mr Molyneaux.
He said there would be evidence Mr Howard told gardaí that moments after calling to the flat, he “put one in the back” of Mr Molyneaux’s head as he turned his back to him. Mr Grehan said Mr Howard told gardaí he went over to Mr Mooney and fired a shot. He said there would be evidence that Mr Howard told gardaí he tried to shoot Mr Mooney again but the gun jammed before he finally shot Mr Mooney in the side of the head.
Mr Grehan said the jury would hear evidence from State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy that Mr Molyneaux died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head while Mr Mooney was shot twice.
He said there would be evidence that in a subsequent interview, he told detectives the “last thing” he wanted to do was murder two family friends, as both had helped him out in the past.
Mr Grehan said the jury would hear Mr Howard again told gardaí he was threatened with being shot if he did not carry out the shooting. In a further interview, Mr Grehan said the jury would hear that Mr Howard agreed he shot the men, that he had “tried to put it off many times” and that he did not want to shoot Mr Molyneaux as he was his father’s best friend.
He told the jury it would be apparent Mr Mooney was shot as he was a witness to the shooting of Mr Molyneaux.
He said it was the prosecution’s intention to call Mr Howard’s father Peter Nalty to give evidence. The jury would also hear evidence from fingerprint experts and forensic scientists.
Mr Grehan said he would contend that Mr Howard’s confessions, with the other evidence, made a “compelling case” to prove beyond reasonable doubt he was guilty of the murders. He said Irish law did not allow for a defence of duress and such a claim had no application to the charge of murder.
The trial, set to last up to six weeks, continues before Mr Justice Paul Carney and a jury of six men and six women.