Officer 'surprised' death site wasn't preserved

A Donegal garda with crime scene training was surprised the hit-and-run site where Richie Barron died was not preserved, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

Sergeant Niall Coady, who was on duty in nearby Castlefinn on the morning after the fatal hit-and-run in October 1996, said preserving the scene was basic and in the garda regulations.

Sgt Coady, who had completed a course on crime scenes just 7 months previously, had contacted the station in Raphoe to enquire about the scene.

“I knew the scene had to be preserved and I rang Lifford to see that scene was preserved,” Sgt Coady said.

“My experience at the time was that fatal road traffic accidents should be preserved.”

He said the case was highly unusual from the start as the body was gone and this caused difficulty for members.

“You are depending on the evidence which might be available at the scene to establish who was involved in the hit-and-run.

The tribunal heard Sgt Coady was asked to investigate the crime scene by Supt John J Fitzgerald from Letterkenny.

Sgt Coady said the gardaí would not have come across many cases of fatal hit-and-run in the area.

He said he arrived shortly after 9am on October 14, 1996.

“It was a chaotic scene and unsightly to say the least," Sgt Coady said.

Sgt Coady said there was blood on the road but the area had been swept by Mattie McBride who was living near the site.

“I certainly was perturbed by the fact the scene had been contaminated and it left me in a difficult situation.

“I was also annoyed that the road had been swept,” Sgt Coady said.

Sgt Coady said he cordoned off the area and Mr McBride informed him where Mr Barron had lain before his body was removed.

Sgt Coady said he went over the area in minute detail with his scene of crime kit.

He told the tribunal he found a piece of skin and hair embedded in the road, he lifted it with tweezers and placed it in a forensic bag.

Sgt Coady said everything was labelled and he drew a crime scene map.

The tribunal was set up to look into the subsequent Garda murder investigation after Mr Barron’s death.

The McBreartys claim they became the targets of Garda harassment after members of Frank McBrearty’s family became suspects in a murder investigation.

Last year the tribunal heard evidence from Irish and British pathologists who gave evidence that Mr Barron most likely died as a result of a hit-and-run.