Murder accused says DNA match is impossible

The former army sergeant accused of murdering Kildare woman Phyllis Murphy almost 23 years ago has told his trial jury that it is "absolutely impossible" that there is a DNA match between his blood and semen found in her body.

John Crerar (54), a father-of-five of Woodside Park, Kildare, has denied the murder of Philomena Murphy (23), who was known as Phyllis, on a date unknown between December 22 1979 and January 18 1980 within the state.

Ms Murphy was found naked and strangled under trees near the Wicklow Gap on January 18 1980.

The state pathologist found injuries on her consistent with rape. The prosecution has called evidence to suggest that there is a one in 1,000 million chance that DNA matching both his blood and semen found in Phyllis Murphy's body could come from someone else.

Mr Crerar took to the witness stand this morning to give evidence in his own defence at the Central Criminal Court trial.

He told his counsel, Roger Sweetman SC that it was "absolutely impossible" that DNA from a blood sample he gave in 1980 matched DNA in semen recovered from Phyllis Murphy’s body.

And he told the court that he gave a voluntary blood sample in early February 1980, not on March 6 1980, the date the prosecution evidence has suggested.

The accused said it was probably early February, not late January, as he had first said, that he gave a blood sample to gardai.

He said it "definitely" was not the March 6, because at the time he gave it, his wife was due their fourth child and she came to the garda station with him.

It was definitely not March 6, he said, because their daughter was born on February 16.

John Crerar told his trial that he turned up for work as a security guard at the Black and Decker plant in Kildare on the night the prosecution allege he killed Phyllis Murphy.

He said he arrived at work shortly after 8pm and left sometime shortly after 9.40pm to play darts and collect a turkey from a pub.

He said he left that pub between 11.15pm and 11.30pm and returned to the Black and Decker plant.

The accused also contradicted the evidence of a former garage owner, Mr John Dempsey, who told the trial that in January 1980, John Crerar approached him seeking "cover" for around 7pm on the night of December 22.

John Crerar told the court that it was John Dempsey who approached him. He alleged that on January 18 1980, Mr Dempsey sent for him and told him the gardai had been making inquiries about his car. Mr Dempsey then offered to mark the car down for a service for the night of December 22, the accused alleged.

He told the court: "He sent for me and made me this offer - unbelievable, but true."

He agreed that he had thought the offer "very strange" at the time and at many occasions since when he thought about it, but he told counsel he did not report the matter because he thought Mr Dempsey had been "put up to it". The case continues before Mr Justice McKechnie.