Exhumation cancelled by garda chief

A CHIEF superintendent ordered an exhumation of the body of Raphoe cattle dealer Richie Barron to be cancelled because a new post mortem could have been disastrous for a garda murder inquiry, the Morris Tribunal was told yesterday.

Former superintendent Kevin Lennon told the tribunal into garda corruption in Donegal that he had requested the exhumation of Mr Barron in October 1997 because the investigation into his suspected murder had insufficient forensic evidence. But he said he was told to cancel the exhumation by his chief superintendent, Denis Fitzpatrick.

“I think he cancelled it because he knew the investigation was going sideways,” said Mr Lennon.

He said if the exhumation had confirmed that Mr Barron’s death had been murder it would have been good.

But he said: “If it turned out to be a hit-and-run accident, that was a total disaster for what had happened from day one. Therefore, there was a serious dilemma arising from that.”

The former officer said there were disastrous consequences for the inquiry, which had a disputed confession from suspect Frank McBrearty Jnr, if it turned out to be a hit-and-run.

“You had a statement of confession for a murder that never happened,” he said.

“You had 11 or 12 people arrested for murder or accessory to a murder that never happened.

“You had a process, 10 months gone, a total waste of procedures. Putting all these factors together, there would certainly be a big roll-out from it,” he said.

Mr Lennon told the tribunal he had informed his superior officer he was applying for an exhumation.

“I told him: ‘the truth is in the graveyard in Raphoe.’ I was putting the position to him of what line I was taking so he wasn’t caught in the dark.

“He didn’t even say if it was a good thing or a bad thing,” said Mr Lennon.

During a car journey back from Sligo with Chief Superintendent Fitzpatrick and Superintendent Joe Shelly, Mr Lennon was ordered to stop the exhumation. The three men stopped at a local garda station in Donegal town and Mr Lennon made a call to the Department of Justice.

Asked by chairman Mr Justice Frederick Morris, if there could have been a reasonable explanation for Chief Supt Fitzpatrick’s actions, such as wanting to avoid upsetting the Barron family, Mr Lennon said he did not think it was a rational decision.

Under the law, Mr Lennon knew he could not cancel the exhumation once the order had been made for it, so he asked the Department of Justice to put it on hold. “I was very disappointed, to be honest, but I was in his hands, he was my boss, so that was it.”

He said he had not challenged Chief Supt Fitzpatrick over his decision.

Mr Lennon also told the tribunal he had not informed his superior officer that he had put the order on hold rather than attempting to cancel it.

Mr Barron’s body was exhumed as part of a re-investigation of the case in 2001.

Pathologists told the tribunal they believed Mr Barron’s injuries were caused by a road traffic accident.