Murder trial witness denies lying to court

A central witness in the case of a Co Cavan man on trial for murder has denied that he has lied to the court and tried to make himself look innocent and “detached” from the killing.

Tom McCall was giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court in the trial of Trevor McCabe (aged 35), of Mountpleasant, Ballyconnell, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Darren McGrath in May 2008.

It is the prosecution's case that Mr McGrath was shot twice in the head at close range as he slept in bed in Belturbet, Cavan on May 20.

During his cross-examination, counsel for the defence Mr Peter Finlay SC, put it to the witness that he had been “less than honest” with the court.

Mr McCall replied that he had been “honest through the whole lot”. He also denied he was “adopting a position which makes (you) look totally innocent and detached from the killing”.

The witness said it wasn't true that Darren McGrath had taken over his territory in Cavan selling drugs. “You believe that he had some drugs empire going” Mr Finlay said. The witness replied: “No”.

Mr Finlay put it to him that it was “a strange thing” that a female taxi driver who picked him up the night of May 19, told gardaí that Mr McCall had had a conversation with her about a man being shot in Cavan over €5,000.

The woman said she did not know what Mr McCall was referring to at the time, but when she heard about the shooting afterwards, she realised that he had told her about the killing before it had happened.

Mr McCall denied that this conversation had ever taken place. He said he believed the taxi driver had been drunk or “tripping” at the time.

The witness agreed that he had gone drinking with another man in Omagh town on the day following the shooting. However, he denied that when they got into a taxi, the man said to the driver “we're after doing a job last night in Belturbet. He was a bad b*****d and had it coming to him”.

Mr McCall admitted that he heard this being said “but he wasn't indicating anything about me”.

Mr Finlay also put it to the witness that a man who lived next door to Darren McGrath “described a man about your height and build as being one of two men running from the house”.

He said that witness described the running man as 5 foot 7 or 8 in height. Mr McCall replied that he was 5 foot 6.

Several times during his evidence, the witness referred to McCabe has having shot Darren McGrath. But when he left the witness stand, Mr Justice Barry White instructed the jury to “disregard what Mr McCall said about the accused man being the person who shot Mr McGrath”.

He said that the witness had not seen any killing take place nor had he been told by the accused man about the killing.

“What he is seeking to do is perhaps act upon rumour or draw inferences from the fact that the accused is before the court charged with murder,” Mr Justice White said.

The trial resumes on Monday morning before a jury of four men and eight women.