Probe demanded after murder trial collapses

Demands were made tonight for an official investigation after amurder trial collapsed following the withdrawal of a number of key prosecution witness statements.

The accused man in the case, 19-year-old Liam Keane, was freed at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court when the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charge against him.

Keane pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial to the murder of Eric Leamy, also aged 19, in Limerick more than two years ago.

But the DPP directed that a “nolle prosequi” should be entered after central prosecution witness Roy Behan denied making statements to police identifying the accused as the man who stabbed Mr Leamy.

Mr Behan was the sixth witness to deny making a statement related to the case during the trial that began last month.

Mr Behan failed to turn up in court when he was due to appear last Friday, and there was evidence in the absence of the jury that he had been assaulted at a Limerick rail station en route to Dublin.

Trial judge Mr Justice Paul Carney said he had never before encountered the likes of what happened in the case and ordered that a transcript of the proceedings and an earlier related trial should be sent to the DPP.

Last week the judge issued a warning that witnesses could face imprisonment if they committed perjury after a number of witnesses were declared hostile.

Mr Justice Carney was in turn accused by defence counsel of intimidating witnesses after highlighting the risks of “self-incrimination.”

Today he also talked of the possibility of a “plethora of successful prosecutions” arising out of the trial and told jurors about “some suspicious comings and goings in and out of court” which may have breached an order of the court.

Keane grinned and hugged relatives as he left the court after today’s developments.

He commented: “I am saying nothing,” and his mother, Margaret Keane, stood in front of her son and said: “leave him alone.”

Tonight Fine Gael's John Deasy called on Justice Minister Michael McDowell to immediately investigate the protection of witnesses in cases involving what he called “gangland murders.”

He recalled that two weeks ago a court in Limerick had been unable to assemble a 12-strong jury because potential jurors feared for their safety.

Mr Deasy added: “Today we witnessed the spectacle of prosecution witnesses repeatedly failing to substantiate statements previously made by them to Gardai (police).

“The minister needs to identify the reasons why these witnesses were unprepared to testify against the accused man.

“Organised crime is subverting our criminal justice system and this government seems unwilling to do anything about it.

“This requires direct action against those individuals who are prepared to intimidate citizens and make a laughing stock of the criminal justice system.”