Kevin Lunney case: Blood found inside horsebox on accused's yard
Kevin Lunney: Bundled into boot of car and driven to a container where he was threatened and told to resign as a director of Quinn Industrial Holdings.
A forensic scientist found blood inside a blue horsebox in a yard belonging to one of the men accused of abducting and assaulting businessman Kevin Lunney, the Special Criminal Court has heard.
Dr Yvonne O'Dowd, of Forensic Science Ireland, today told prosecuting counsel Sean Guerin that she attended a yard at Drumbrade, Ballinagh, Co Cavan, on September 22, 2019, to examine a blue horsebox for evidence of blood.
She used luminol, a chemical spray that emits a blue light when it comes into contact with blood. Having conducted a thorough search of the inside of the horsebox, she noted a blue glow in an area to the right of the door.
Dr O'Dowd did a further "KM test" which confirmed the presence of blood and so she took two swabs from the area. She brought the samples to the Forensic Science laboratories where she conducted a hemaTrace test which confirmed the blood was human rather than animal.
The scientist agreed with Michael O'Higgins, for the accused known as YZ, that she did not know whether the blood was of human or animal origin until she carried out the HemaTrace test.
Detective Garda David Kerrigan told Mr Guerin that he arrived at the yard at Drumbrade on September 21, the day before Dr O'Dowd conducted her examination.
He said he noted the presence of trailers and a horsebox and reported what he saw to a senior garda who told him to preserve the scene. Garda Kerrigan said he conducted inquiries and established that the yard belonged to Luke O'Reilly, one of the four accused.
Lawyers for the four accused are challenging the admissibility of evidence relating to the yard and trailers.
A 40-year-old man known as YZ; Alan O’Brien, aged 40, of Shelmalier Rd, East Wall, Dublin 3; Darren Redmond, aged 27, from Caledon Rd, East Wall, Dublin 3; and Luke O’Reilly, 67, with an address at Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, Co Cavan, have all pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment and intentionally causing serious harm to Mr Lunney at Drumbrade, Ballinagh, Co Cavan, on September 17, 2019.
Mr Lunney, a director of Quinn Industrial Holdings, has told the court that he was bundled into the boot of a car near his home and driven to a container where he was threatened and told to resign as a director of Quinn Industrial Holdings.
His abductors cut him with a Stanley knife, stripped him to his boxer shorts, doused him in bleach, broke his leg with two blows of a wooden bat, beat him on the ground, cut his face, and scored the letters 'QIH' into his chest.
They left him bloodied, beaten and shivering on a country road at Drumcoghill, Co Cavan, where he was discovered by a man driving a tractor.
The trial continues.
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