None of the doors or windows at Jack White's Inn showed signs of forced entry, Garda witnesses told the murder trial of Mrs Catherine Nevin yesterday. Gardai also told the Central Criminal Court trial that none of the phones on the premises had been ripped out, although two phones were off the hook - one in Mrs Nevin's bedroom and another one outside the bathroom adjoining it.
The jury also heard that on the day of her husband's funeral Mrs Nevin had in her hands a bloodstained pocket from the jacket her husband was wearing when he was shot.
Mrs Nevin (48) has denied the murder of her husband, Mr Thomas Nevin (54), on March 19th, 1996 in their home at Jack White's Inn, Ballinapark, near Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow.
She has also denied three counts of soliciting named men to kill him.
Mr Nevin was shot in the chest as he counted the pub's takings in the kitchen. The prosecution alleges the murder was arranged by his wife and the money was taken as payment for a contract killing.
In evidence, Garda John Heraghty told Mr Tom O'Connell, prosecuting, that he checked all doors and windows when he arrived at 5 a.m. on the day of the murder.
"I found all doors and windows were secure, with no sign of forced entry or break-in," he said. A member of the Garda Technical Bureau, Det Garda William Brennan, said he also found no sign of attempts to force entry through the windows or doors.
Cross-examined by Mr Paul Burns, defending, Garda Her aghty said he was sure he had checked a fire escape door on the flat roof on the first floor. He agreed that in his statement of evidence he had said he had "a quick look around" the flat roof and "found nothing out of the ordinary". It was an oversight in writing up his statement that he did not mention that he had checked the door, he said.
Garda Yvonne Foran told the court that on the day of Mr Nevin's funeral, March 21st, she was on duty at the inn with the task of ensuring there was no unauthorised interference with the scene of the crime.
She said she noticed a piece of material in Mrs Nevin's hand. Mrs Nevin said it was the pocket of the jacket her husband had been wearing when he was shot.
She told Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, defending, that Mrs Nevin handed the pocket to her before she went to the funeral and asked her to give it back on her return. When Garda Foran examined it, she found that "there was small bits of dried blood falling off it". Instead of giving it back to Mrs Nevin, she handed it to a colleague from the Fingerprints Section of the Garda. The jury heard the pocket was found lying dislodged from the inside lining of Mr Nevin's jacket by gardai who were first at the scene on March 19th.
The trial continues today.