Murder trial of Wicklow man continues

The Central Criminal Court has heard that detectives travelled to Austria and Switzerland with a can of Red Bull discovered at the scene of a fatal shooting, in an effort to establish if it had been bought at a Dublin Spar shop.

The evidence was heard on day four of the murder trial of Wicklow man Garrett O'Brien, who is accused of shooting dead Stephen O'Byrne at his home in Tallaght in March 2009.

The 27-year-old was shot five times in the back, head and leg as he was about to leave his home at Tymon Park North with his girlfriend and their baby son, for a night out.

Sharon Rattigan, his partner of 10 years and mother of his two children, is the key witness in the trial and has told the jury that a stocky, black-haired man wearing a hooded tracksuit walked in to their driveway and opened fire on her partner.

She ran at the man and tried to wrestle the revolver from him. During the struggle he shot her in the leg, hit and punched her over the head with the gun, and then ran off when she managed to throw the weapon out of reach.

A number of other witnesses have said they saw a hooded man running from the scene and into a waiting Volkswagon Passat.

The prosecution argues that O'Brien, of Clover Hill in Bray, was the gunman and was part of a gang of men who had plotted for two days to kill Mr O'Byrne at his home.

The 34-year-old denies the charge. It is also the prosecution's case that a mobile phone and a can of Red Bull found at the scene fell out of O'Brien's pocket during his struggle with Ms Rattigan.

Senior prosecuting counsel, Mr Alex Owens SC, has told the jury they will hear evidence that a man was seen at the Spar in Ballymount, buying two cans of Red Bull on two occasions prior to the shooting.

In his evidence, Sergeant Dermot Kelly told the court that he travelled to Red Bull manufacturing plants in Austria and Switzerland with the can of the energy drink that had been seized at the scene.

During his inquiries, he established that the can was part of a batch that had been manufactured for the Irish market in November 2008.

Between 700 and 800 for these cans bore exactly the same production stamp as the one on the can taken from the scene.

Between January 16, 2009 and the day of the shooting, March 13, 2009, several cans from this batch were sold at the Spar shop in Ballymount. Receipts from the store were obtained by gardaí to prove this.

The jury heard that forensic tests carried out on the Red Bull can found at the scene showed no fingerprint or DNA evidence to link it to O'Brien.

The trial resumes today before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy.