Graham Dwyer murder trial jury given 'squeamishness' warning by judge

Graham Dwyer. Photo: PA

Andrew Phelan

A JURY panel has been given a “squeamishness” warning for the trial of Graham Dwyer, who is charged with the murder of childcare worker Elaine O’Hara.

Mr Justice Paul Carney gave the warning to the panel as jurors were being selected at the Central Criminal Court today.

The architect’s trial is due to get underway tomorrow after the jury was sworn in.

Dwyer (42) is accused of killing Ms O’Hara (37), whose remains were found in undergrowth in the foothills of the Dublin mountains in September 2013, more than a year after she disappeared.

The accused arrived in the courtroom at 11.15am this morning dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie.

He addressed the court only to answer “not guilty” to the charge of murder.

Dwyer, a father-of-two from Kerrymount Close, Foxrock, is charged with the murder of Ms O’Hara at Killakee, Rathfarnham on August 22, 2012.

Mr Justice Carney told the panel of a number of south Dublin addresses associated with Ms O’Hara, as well as jobs she had had at a newsagents and a school.

She had also been attending a hospital prior to her death.

He said he was doing this so they would know whether to disqualify themselves from serving.

He also said anyone who had a connection with a website, www.alt.com, should not serve.

“In this case it will be difficult for anybody who is particularly squeamish,” the judge said, explaining that it was important that the jury be held together for the duration of the trial.

“If anybody is particularly squeamish, that is a matter that they might indicate,” he said.

The jury of seven men and five women was then sworn in.

The court heard the trial would take six to eight weeks.

The jurors were told to return tomorrow, when the prosecution is expected to open its case.

The accused, originally from Co Cork, worked for a firm of architects in Dublin.

Ms O'Hara vanished on August 22, 2012 after leaving her home in Belarmine Plaza, Stepaside.

Partial remains of her body were uncovered by a dog on a walk with its owner in Killakee, near Rathfarnham, in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, on September 13, 2013.

The opening in November 2013 of an inquest heard that no cause of death had been established and the inquest was adjourned until the outcome of criminal proceedings.