Garda found 'long bar', murder jury told

A garda told a murder trial jury today that he found a "long bar" in grass during a search of a field following the discovery of the body of Portuguese man nearby.

Garda David Leahy of Youghal said he was on duty on September 7 last year at the scene of the death of Mr Sergio Abru.

He said that he and other gardaí were carrying out a search of the immediate area.

After searching caravans in a nearby caravan park he decided to walk on top of a wall which ran adjacent to the caravans.

Garda Leahy said that he was standing on top of the wall and at the bottom of the wall there was a high growth of grass.

He said he noticed a long bar in the grass and called over Detective Sergeant Goulding who examined it. Garda Leahy said that he placed the bar in a forensic bag.

The jury was shown the bar which Garda Leahy described as made of "light aluminium".

Three New Age travellers have denied the murder of Mr Abru, a Portuguese national, in Co Waterford last year.

Graeme Turnbull (aged 36), with an address at Ballyhooley Rd, Cork; Steven Job (aged 31) of Whiting Bay, Ardmore, Co Waterford and Stuart Spicer (aged 28), with an address at Ballyquin, c/o Ardmore Post Office have all pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Abru (aged 43) at Clashanahy, Ardmore, Co Waterford between September 6 and 7, 2002.

Mr Abru died after he was found lying in a field near Whiting Bay, Ardmore, Co Waterford suffering from serious injuries.

He had been involved in a row with the three accused on a campsite nearby and was seriously assaulted and beaten with an iron bar.

The court has heard that one of the accused, Mr Spicer had begun a relationship with Mr Abru's former partner in the months prior to the killing.

Retired Garda Jim Kelleher told the court that during a search of an abandoned green Renault car near the caravan site he found a plastic bag in the car boot containing damp clothing.

The trial before Mr Justice Kevin O' Higgins and the jury of seven men and five women is continuing.