Accused ‘told garda he burned bloody top’

A man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s partner set fire to a blood-stained hoodie he had been wearing on the night of the fatal fight, the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday.

James Connors, aged 29, of Rosemount, Drinagh, Co Wexford, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Jason Ryan, 27, at Hollyville Heights in Wexford Town on January 25, 2012.

Detective Garda Alan Byrne told the court he interviewed Mr Connors at Wexford Garda Station on the afternoon of January 28, 2012. He said that, in the course of that interview, Mr Connors said he had forgotten to wash the hoodie when he washed the rest of his clothes following the fatal stabbing.

Det Gda Byrne said Mr Connors told him in the interview: “I burned it. There was blood on it from wiping my face. I burned it to cinders.”

Det Gda Byrne also agreed that Mr Connors told him that he called Mr Ryan’s girlfriend Samantha Hore at 2.12am, about two hours after the stabbing. Ms Hore had been Mr Connors’s girlfriend for 10 years before she started dating Mr Ryan. He said he called her to find out about Mr Ryan’s condition. “She just hung up on me,” he told the garda.

The trial continues before Justice Margaret Heneghan today.