Plumber had arms up when he was shot, inquest hears

INNOCENT plumber Anthony Campbell, who was gunned down while at work in a north Dublin house, had both arms raised in a defensive posture when he was murdered, the findings of a postmortem suggest.

Mr Campbell, aged 20, from St Michan’s House, Smithfield, was working on radiators at the home of crime boss Martin “Marlo” Hyland at Scribblestown Park, Finglas. Gunmen entered the house and shot him as well as Hyland, who was in bed upstairs.

Hyland, who had been staying with his niece and her partner for three months, was concerned about threats to his life at the time, was refusing to answer the door and had a Samurai sword with him wherever he was in the house, an inquest into the double murders at Dublin County Coroner’s Court heard yesterday.

Detective Inspector Kieran McEneaney said Mr Campbell was killed to eliminate any risk of Hyland’s killers being later identified.

“Sinister criminal elements of a serious criminal persuasion were involved in the deliberate and violent murder of Martin Hyland and in the ruthless taking of the young life of Anthony Campbell.”

Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty said Mr Campbell was a “hard-working and innocent young man who was callously and brutally murdered”.

The coroner described Hyland’s killing as “very brutal.”

A jury at the inquest returned two separate verdicts of death by unlawful killing.

The plumber’s grief stricken mother, Christine Campbell, said after the inquest that they were “absolutely devastated”.

“I can’t even put it into words,” she said outside the court.

The inquest heard the double shooting occurred at 9.20am on December 12, 2006.

Mr Campbell died from a single gunshot injury to the head at “fairly close range”, a postmortem by State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy found.

Hyland was shot six times in the head and body, the inquest heard.

A Garda investigation was launched and 14 people were arrested. The investigation has reached the point where it cannot be progressed any further in the absence of further information, Det Insp McEneaney said.