Discharged bullets at scene of Gareth Hutch murder all came from same gun, court hears

By Alison O'Riordan

Discharged bullets found at the scene of the fatal shooting of Gareth Hutch all came from the same handgun, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

A ballistics expert also told the three-judge, non-jury court that a second handgun discarded by the shooters in the carpark of the Dublin city flats complex had not been used.

Mr Hutch (36), nephew of Gerry “the Monk” Hutch was shot dead as he was getting into his car outside Avondale House flats on North Cumberland Street in Dublin on the morning of May 24, 2016. He died as a result of four gun shot injuries.

Thomas Fox (31) with an address at Rutland Court, Dublin 1, Regina Keogh (41) from Avondale House, Cumberland Street North, Dublin 1 and Jonathan Keogh (32) of Gloucester Place, Dublin 1, have pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Hutch.

Mr Fox has also denied unlawfully possessing a Makarov 9 mm handgun on May 23, 2016 at the same place.

Detective Garda Ursula Cummins, a ballistics expert with the Garda Technical Bureau, told prosecuting counsel Paul Burns SC that she examined the scene at Avondale House carpark after the shooting where she found two semi-automatic Makarov 9mm handguns and discharged cartridge cases.

She said both handguns were of Russian origin with silencers attached and they had their serial numbers erased.

The witness said she took a number of wet and dry swabs from both handguns and the discharged cartridge cases.

The safety on the first handgun was not engaged, its magazine was empty and it had a capacity of eight rounds of ammunition, said Det Gda Cummins. The witness said she examined the discharged cartridge cases and the discharged bullets, adding she was satisfied they were discharged from this firearm.

The second handgun was loaded with six rounds of ammunition and one of the rounds was removed from the breach. It had a magazine capacity of eight rounds and its safety was engaged, she said.

The witness testified that she took a number of swabs from various locations in the stairwell leading up to a flat belonging to key prosecution witness Mary McDonnell.

Det Gda Cummins said she also took a number of swabs from the exterior and interior of a black BMW car. Navy waterproof pants, a waterproof jacket, a black balaclava, a navy baseball cap, a black Adidas hoodie with a zip, black Adidas bottoms, a neck warmer, navy waterproof pants and a navy “Arctic Storm” waterproof jacket were found in the car, the witness said.

It is the State’s case that clothing in the BMW car can be linked to Mr Keogh.

Det Gda Cummins said she took swabs from a petrol can and a black spray paint cap which were found in the BMW. The windows of the BMW had been spray painted, she said.

The court previously heard that a black BMW car was parked in the car park of the flat complex on the day before the shooting. It is the State’s case that Mr Keogh and Mr AB ran to the BMW and remained in it for a minute, but then abandoned it when it would not start and ran out of the flat complex.

A cross at the scene of Gareth Hutch's shooting

Det Gda Cummins said she also took swabs from a white Ford transit van on May 28 as well as from a bottle of Milton sterilising fluid and a grey petrol can. It is the prosecution’s case that Mr Fox was in this van on the morning of the shooting, but due to a change of plans the white van was not required.

Concluding her evidence-in-chief, Det Gda Cummins said Mr Hutch was shot beside the black BMW car and all the bullets had been discharged from the same firearm and the second firearm had not been used.

Later, the court heard that key witness Mary McDonnell cannot return home to the flat complex where the shooting took place and if she does gardai will have “some headache” protecting her.

Mrs McDonnell previously told the trial that she wants to return home to Avondale House after the trial.

Mrs McDonnell was originally charged with withholding information but that charge was dropped and she has been given immunity from prosecution.

The court heard previously that Mrs McDonnell made a voluntary statement to gardaí in her flat at Avondale House on May 25, in which she implicated the three accused in Mr Hutch’s murder. Gardaí had concerns for her safety as a result of this statement and she and her daughters were taken to Mountjoy Garda Station.

Mrs McDonnell was then arrested and questioned by officers. She exercised her right to silence for three days.

Giving evidence today, Detective Sergeant Peter Woods told Mr Burns, that he has a primary duty to protect life and he takes that very seriously. He believed Mrs McDonnell and her two daughters would be in danger if they remained in Avondale House as a result of the information she had disclosed to them.

“Mary McDonnell is a very simple person and her life revolves around the flats. She smokes in her flat, drinks tea and wears her house coat. She didn’t want to leave, I impressed on her that we needed to get her out of there,” he added.

Under cross-examination by Sean Guerin SC, defending Mr Keogh, Det Sgt Woods agreed he was anxious to build a rapport with Mrs McDonnell in her interviews to get information from her. He said he was empathetic and understanding but never showed that he was on her side.

Det Sgt Woods told Mr Guerin that he had to be very careful about offering Mrs McDonnell protection during her garda interviews as it could be perceived as an inducement.

“I would not tell her or give her the impression that her protection depended on her cooperation. It was not a quid pro quo, she was always going to protected in my mind,” he said.

He said Mrs McDonnell has never grasped the seriousness of her situation and she still does not. “The reality is that she cannot go back to live in Avondale House and if she does An Garda Siochana will have some headache protecting her,” he said, adding that gardaí would do this unconditionally.

Mr Guerin put it to the witness that it was not one of the high points in his interviewing career when he told Mrs McDonnell she would be shot dead if she returned to Avondale House. Det Sgt Woods said it was very real for him that Mrs McDonnell would be in danger if she returned to her home.

“Do you consider it to be a good interviewing technique to say to a potential witness that a named suspect will shoot you?” asked Mr Guerin.

“It’s about telling her what the reality is and what could happen,” replied Det Sgt Woods.

Det Sgt Woods agreed that although Mrs McDonnell had played a small role in the murder of Mr Hutch, in his view it was preferable to use her as a witness against others rather than prosecute her for murder.

Dgt Sgt Woods said he believed there was duress involved when Mrs McDonnell allowed her flat to be used on two occasions prior to the fatal shooting of Mr Hutch.

At the opening of the trial, the prosecution told the court that the killing of Mr Hutch was not a spontaneous or spur of the moment act but a “brutal and callous murder”.

“It was premeditated and a significant amount of planning had gone into it,” counsel said.

The prosecution say the three co-accused each had their own part to play in bringing about the death of Mr Hutch.

The prosecution contend that Mr Keogh threatened to kill Mr Hutch the evening before the shooting, that Mr Fox and Ms Keogh were instrumental in planning the murder, and Mr Keogh and another man, Mr AB, were the shooters.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Michael Walsh.