A former Army sergeant charged with the murder of Ms Phyllis Murphy almost 20 years ago appeared in court at Newbridge, Co Kildare, yesterday and was remanded to Naas District Court in two weeks. Mr John Crerar (51), from Woodside Park in Kildare town, was remanded in custody in Mountjoy prison until July 28th by Judge Thomas Ballagh. Ms Murphy (23) was abducted, raped and strangled around Christmas 1979.
Gardai sealed off the area around the entrance to the courthouse and had metal barriers in place to prevent about 200 onlookers from gathering close to the building.
At 10.45 a.m. Mr Crerar arrived in an unmarked police car, which pulled up close to the main entrance at the side of the building. He was led handcuffed up steep stone steps by plain-clothes gardai. He kept his head bowed and covered his face with his hand.
In yesterday's packed courtroom, Mr Crerar sat flanked by gardai with his head bowed and his eyes downcast. Judge Ballagh remanded him in custody to appear on July 28th at Naas District Court.
Mr Crerar's solicitor, Mr Conal Boyce, expressed concern about the behaviour of onlookers outside the courthouse on Wednesday, when his client was jeered and jostled as he left. He reminded the court of the presumption of innocence in such cases, which, he said, the public might not be aware of. Inspt Sean Lavin, from Kildare Garda station, said the gardai would "ensure to minimise these actions".
As Mr Crerar was driven away, he was heckled by several people in the crowd.