A senior detective who took his own life in a Garda station over six years ago felt under stress from “ridiculous and endless” demands from the defence in a high-profile murder trial he was centrally involved in at the time of his death, an inquest has heard.
A retired chief superintendent, Finbar Murphy, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court that the late Detective Superintendent Colm Fox felt the defence in the trial of Patrick Hutch at the Special Criminal Court over a murder which sparked a major gangland feud were placing unrealistic demands on his investigation.
The third day of the inquest into the death of Det Supt Fox at Ballymun garda station on February 10th, 2018, also heard evidence that the deceased was surprised at the “ferocity” of the defence’s questioning of the truthfulness of Garda witnesses.
The coroner, Myra Cullinane, was also informed that Det Supt Fox had once remarked that Garda management was “constantly hounding” him about the trial.
Det Supt Fox was in charge of the investigation into the murder of David Byrne – a senior member of the Kinahan crime cartel – at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, Dublin on February 5th, 2016.
Mr Hutch was charged with the murder which occurred during a daring attack on a boxing weigh-in at the hotel by members of the rival Hutch gang but his trial subsequently collapsed following the death of Det Supt Fox.
Chief Supt Murphy gave evidence that Det Supt Fox told him on February 2nd, 2018, during the trial that the defence were placing unrealistic timescales on gardaí with their demands which the deceased had branded as “ridiculous and endless.”
The witness recalled that Det Supt Fox had remarked that the more he did “the more they seemed to want” which had resulted in him having to work very long hours.
After a day in court, he said his colleague complained that Hutch’s defence team would send another list of e-mails overnight “with new demands.”
Chief Supt Murphy said the deceased had “found it very difficult” and had appeared “gaunt and a little bit pale” at the time.
Although his colleague had been involved in numerous murder cases, he said Det Supt Fox had admitted that the Regency trial was “getting in on him” and he was waking up in the night thinking of the investigation.
Chief Supt Murphy also gave evidence that Det Supt Fox had told him during the early stages of the investigation that he had spotted an error which was causing him difficulty.
However, Det Supt Fox did not say what the error was and when they met a week later said it had been “boxed off” and was no longer an issue.
A retired assistant Garda commissioner, Finbar O’Brien, told the inquest that Det Supt Fox had found the testing of evidence about the photo identity of Mr Hutch was “quite severe.”
Mr O’Brien said Det Supt Fox had never raised any issue of concern about the conduct of the murder investigation with him.
Although the Special Criminal Court had ruled on February 2nd, 2018 that the identity evidence was admissible, Det Supt Fox told him later that day that he was finding the trial stressful, particularly over how the truthfulness of gardaí was being questioned.
In reply to questions from the coroner, the witness said that while Det Supt Fox was under stress, he did not think he was struggling mentally.
Mr O’Brien said he did not appreciate at the time the significance of what his colleague was saying.
He observed that the deceased had conducted “an excellent investigation and was an outstanding investigator.”
Cross-examined by counsel for the Fox family, Mark Harty SC, Mr O’Brien said the prolonged absence of a detective inspector from the deceased’s team “would not be a good thing.”
He observed that Det Supt Fox’s resources at the time when he was down a key member would be “fairly stretched.”
In reply to questions from counsel for An Garda Síochána, Shane Murphy SC, Mr O’Brien acknowledged that Det Supt Fox would have received support from several specialist units.
The third day of the inquest heard from 12 gardaí who had interactions with Det Supt Fox in the days and months before his death.
Detective Inspector David Gallagher gave evidence of his belief that Det Supt Fox had over-analysed some aspects of the case and had reached “irrational and incorrect” conclusions about his own performance as a result of the combination of stress and pressure and his concern for the welfare of other gardaí.
Det Insp Gallagher said none of the investigation team had expected the ferocity of the cross-examination of Garda witnesses, although they knew there would be robust challenges to evidence in the trial.
He felt it had really impacted on Det Supt Fox and he noticed the stress and pressure his colleague was under.
Det Insp Gallagher noted there was a lot of media coverage and social media commentary about the case which has resulted in the child of one garda being told in school that his father was a liar.
The witness said Det Supt Fox had taken personal responsibility for the way the integrity of Garda witnesses and the investigation was being challenged.
Det Insp Gallagher said he told his colleague that he was “over-thinking and over-analysing” the case.
However, he never believed Det Supt Fox was under such stress that he would harm himself.
Although he congratulated Det Supt Fox by text on the court’s ruling to admit the identification evidence, Det Insp Gallagher said his colleague replied that it was “only half-time.”
Det Insp Gallagher said he regretted not replying to a missed call and voice message from the deceased at midday on the day of his death about a non-urgent study assignment because he was on a day out with his family.
A retired Garda superintendent, Gerry Donnelly, who was also a neighbour of Det Supt Fox in Malahide, said his friend appeared quite stressed and was noticeably quieter than normal on two occasions they met in the week before he died.
He told the coroner that Det Supt Fox “seemed consumed by something.”
Supt Donnelly said he believed there would have been a different approach by gardaí if they had been aware of all the isolated interactions Det Supt Fox had with individual members of the force at the time.
Detective Sergeant Patrick O’Toole gave evidence that the deceased had told him during the trial that he had made “a terrible mistake but it’s OK now.”
The inquest heard that Det Supt Fox had asked another colleague two days before his death about whether his wife would receive his full pension if he were to die as well as contacting another garda to look for a contact number for a director of the Garda’s credit union on the morning he took his own life.
Detective Garda Fergal O’Flaherty, said Det Supt Fox was in a “very pressurised position without support” during the Regency trial as he was in one of the busiest Garda divisions yet had no detective inspector to assist him.
He recalled that the deceased had once remarked that Garda management was “constantly hounding” him about what was going on in the trial.
Retired chief superintendent, Mark Curran, gave evidence that Det Supt Fox had told him in January before the trial that he was concerned about the pronouncement of death of Mr Byrne but it was subsequently resolved by the evidence of a paramedic.
However, Chief Supt Curran said he could offer no insight into what matter had troubled his colleague so deeply as they had never had any discussion about a mistake or omission in the case.
He observed that Det Supt Fox was “irritated” in the week before his death about a discovery order but did not perceive anything to suggest he was in “mental turmoil.”
Chief Supt Curran told Mr Harty that he believed Det Supt Fox had the capacity to deal with a heavy workload as most gardaí always “step up” in such a situation.
The inquest was adjourned until Thursday when it is expected to conclude.
