A taxi driver accused of participating in the murder of David Byrne told gardai that his taxi could have been “cloned”, the Special Criminal Court has heard.
Paul Murphy, 61, of Cherry Avenue in Swords, Co Dublin, and and Jason Bonney, 50, of Drimnagh Wood, Portmarnock, have both pleaded not guilty to participating in or contributing to the murder of Mr Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on February 5, 2016. The evidence against both men was heard before the joint Special Criminal Court trial with Gerry Hutch yesterday.
Hutch, last of The Paddocks, Clontarf, Dublin 3, denies the murder of Mr Byrne, 33, during a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016. Murphy first gave a statement to gardai in which he outlined his movements on the day of the murder.
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Now retired Detective Garda Alan Crummey told the court when question Murphy said that on February 5, 2016, he had seven or eight jobs that day, in his Toyota Avensis, which he said were all small jobs around Sherriff Street and back.
He said he couldn’t remember specific jobs but it was more than likely that there were receipts from them still in the car. Murphy said he heard about the “shooting at the Regency” on the 3 o’clock news when he was on the North Circular Road.
He told gardai that he didn’t have any involvement in the attack. Murphy said he knew ‘Neddie’ Eddie Hutch – a since murdered brother of the accused Gerry Hutch – through the taxi business.
In relation to his taxi, he said he was the “only person driving it” on February 5, 2016. Garda Crummey took a further statement on March 3 in which Murphy said: “I think my Avensis taxi could have been cloned.”
He said the reason he was saying that is he had two fines – one for speeding and one for littering – adding: “I never litter.” He said he was “not inclined to speed” but said it was “possible it could’ve been me but I don’t think so”.
He said he hadn’t paid the fines and had intended to take the matters to court. Asked if he had any information in relation to the shooting of David Byrne in the Regency he said “no is the answer”.
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The Garda again met Mr Murphy on March 9 and was shown a photocopy of a receipt from his taxi dated February 5, 2016 – and there were 11 fares in total that started at 10:42am and finished at 4:22pm. Murphy said he couldn’t recall all of the journeys he had taken that day.
The Garda then asked Murphy about two phones which were found in the seized car – one a Nokia 8850 which Mr Murphy said he purchased from China on the internet and he thought he used only once.
The other phone, a “little one like a calculator”, he bought from an Applewood garage in Swords. He said that phone was “sh*ite” and he wouldn’t have used it for more than a day or so.
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The court had heard Mr Murphy was arrested May 30, 2016 at the Travel Lodge in Swords Co Dublin in connection with the murder of Byrne by Detective Sergeant Brian Hanley. Det Sgt Hanley said he believed Mr Murphy was “involved in the transporting of individuals involved in this offence prior to and subsequent to the murder”.
He said Murphy had a laptop in his possession which contained CCTV footage and he believed Murphy was in possession of a gold-green Toyota Avensis taxi with a 07 registration on the date of the murder. The footage, he said, showed what he believed to be the taxi arriving at the entrance to a gated car park at Buckingham Village in Dublin at 10:54 am on the morning of February 5, 2016, and he alleged it was driven by Murphy.
The footage also shows this vehicle at 12:02, 12:10 and 12:39 in the Buckingham Street area he said - along with a Black BMW X5, alleged to be connected to co-accused Jason Bonney, which arrived at 12:16pm. Further CCTV footage, he said, showed both vehicles departing the Buckingham Village entrance at 12:56 pm along with a silver Ford Transit vehicle.
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Dert Sgt Hanley said a third vehicle joined to form a convoy, which he said was a Skoda taxi belonging to a “member of the Hutch family.” All three vehicles are captured on CCTV, he said, making their way to St Vincent’s GAA grounds where they remained until a number of individuals are seen making their way through a nearby laneway.
The garda told the court it is believed these persons had just been involved in the murder of David Byrne in the Regency Hotel. It is believed it is believed that at this moment they “made their escape” into the grounds of St Vincents GAA – where the vehicles alleged to be driven by Bonney and Murphy were waiting.
The Detective Garda also said the till receipts from Mr Murphy’s taxi journeys that “did not correlate” with the account he had previously given gardai of his movements that day.
