108 city cameras scoured in hunt for double killers

By Brian Kavanagh

GARDAI investigating a double murder in Dublin collected CCTV from 108 city premises during their investigation, a court has heard.

The Central Criminal Court jury in the trial of the man accused of the killings in the city two years ago has now been sent home for as much as a week to allow legal argument in its absence.

Gary Howard (24), with addresses at Emerald Street, Dublin 2, and Dunsoghly Grove, Finglas, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Patrick Mooney (58) and Brendan Molyneaux (46), at Pearse House, on January 10, 2010.

Mr Justice Paul Carney told the jury of six women and six men that the trial was moving to a phase in which the law required him to act without their assistance.

He said it could be as long as a week before they are asked to reconvene.

The jury today watched extensive CCTV footage and heard evidence from several witnesses involved in the collation of hours of camera recordings from 108 premises across the city as collected by gardai as part of their investigation.

Garda Michael Moore told Mr Brendan Grehan, prosecuting, that he received footage from a series of CCTV cameras at the Salvation Army Hostel on Longford Street Little, recorded on the evening before the killings.

He said it was his belief that an individual captured smoking a cigarette at the entrance to the hostel at 5.30 on the evening of January 9, 2010 was the accused, Gary Howard.

Garda Moore told the court that he believed the footage then shows Howard entering the hostel and meeting his father, Peter Nalty and the deceased man, Brendan Molyneaux. He said it was his belief that footage from the same cameras, on January 10, 2010, shows Peter Nalty entering the hostel just before 3.50pm and leaving with Brendan Molyneaux just over an hour later.

shootings

Garda Moore said he believed CCTV footage taken from a series of premises across the south inner-city recorded the route taken by Peter Nalty and Brendan Molyneaux as they walked from the Salvation Army hostel to the flat in Pearse House, where the shootings took place.

Friends Brendan Molyneaux and Patrick Mooney were shot in the city-centre flat belonging to Mr Mooney on the evening of Sunday, January 10, 2010.

Gary Howard was arrested by gardai after they forced their way in to his Finglas home at 9.25pm on the same night, the court heard.

It is the prosecution case that Gary Howard carried out the fatal shooting at approximately 6.40pm on the evening in question.

hnews@herald.ie