Jury begins deliberations in Tallaght murder trial

A Central Criminal Court jury has begun deliberating in the trial of a 34-year-old Wicklow man charged with murdering a young Dubliner.

Father-of-two Séamus O'Byrne was shot five times in front of his girlfriend and baby son outside their home at Tymon Park North, Tallaght.

Garrett O’Brien of Clover Hill, Bray has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 27-year-old on March 13, 2009.

He has also pleaded not guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life on the same occasion.

Ms Justice Iseult O'Malley today reminded the jury of the arguments of both sides in the trial.

She said the prosecution case was that a group of people was involved in carrying out the murder, not a lone gunman.

She told the eight men and four women that the prosecution argued that Mr O’Brien was the gunman.

She said the jurors first had to ask themselves whether they accepted that this was a planned murder. They then had to ask themselves if they were satisfied that Mr O’Brien was ‘a knowing participant’ in the plan.

She said that if they thought the defendant was innocently associated with the plotters, as the defence had suggested, then they should acquit.

The month-long trial heard that Mr O’Byrne’s partner and the mother of his children wrestled the gun from the killer after he had shot him.

Gardaí later found a phone and can of Red Bull at the scene, which they believed fell out of the assailant’s pocket during this struggle with Sharon Rattigan.

The jury saw CCTV footage of a man, alleged to be Mr O’Brien, buying Red Bull on the day of the killing.

A DNA profile matching the defendant’s was found on the phone left at the scene.

The jury was shown the call records relating to this phone for the days surrounding the killing.

The State said that these proved that the accused was in touch with other suspects at that time and therefore involved in the murder plot.

The jury was sent home yesterday evening after failing to reach a verdict and will continue deliberations tomorrow morning.