The prosecution case against a man accused of murdering a nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch is "tenuous" and includes evidence that actually points to his innocence, a barrister has told the Special Criminal Court.
Mark Lynam SC, for Thomas 'Nicky' McConnell, told the three-judge, non-jury court that his client does not match the description given by witnesses at the scene of the fatal ambush on Gareth Hutch.
Mr Lynam said that witness Mary McDonnell, who spent hours in the company of the gunmen when they used her apartment as a lookout before the shooting, was unable to identify Mr McConnell when shown images of him.
She also described the man as having "a lock of blonde hair from his forehead" whereas Mr McConnell, counsel said, had closely cropped black or dark hair.
Mr Lynam pointed to the evidence of another witness who saw the shooting and described the gunman alleged by the prosecution to be Mr McConnell as having blonde hair.
CCTV that the prosecution said showed Mr McConnell in the company of the second gunman, Jonathan Keogh, on the day of the shooting actually shows someone with a smaller build and different eyes, nose and mouth, counsel said.
Mr Lynam accepted there was evidence that his client was engaged in criminal conduct in the lead-up to the shooting and that he was in possession of a BMW that was intended to be used as the getaway car following the shooting.
There was, however, no evidence that Mr McConnell was one of the shooters. "We say the correct verdict here is a not guilty verdict," he said.
Mr McConnell (38), of Sillogue Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin 11, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gareth Hutch (36) on May 24th, 2016 at Avondale House, North Cumberland Street, Dublin 1.
Mr McConnell is the fourth person to go on trial accused of the same murder. It is the prosecution case that Mr McConnell and Jonathan Keogh used Ms McDonnell's apartment to watch Gareth Hutch's home and when Mr Hutch emerged from his front door, they followed him and shot him dead.
In November 2018, the Special Criminal Court found Regina Keogh (47), of Cumberland Street North, Dublin 1, Jonathan Keogh (39), with an address at Gloucester Place, Dublin 1, and Thomas Fox (32), with an address at Rutland Court, Dublin 1, guilty of the murder of Mr Hutch.
Ms McDonnell told Mr McConnell's trial in June last year that she could identify Jonathan Keogh because she had known him for many years, but she did not know the second man, who the prosecution alleges was Mr McConnell.
When asked to identify the second man from CCTV footage showing Mr McConnell in a shop later the same day, she said she was "not really 100 per cent" and that she was "half and half".
Mr Lynam told the court that his client had always been open and honest that he knew Regina and Jonathan Keogh and was in regular contact with them in the days leading up to the murder.
Mr Lynam accepted that CCTV evidence "clearly" showed his client in the BMW that was parked near Mr Hutch's home and which was intended to be used as the getaway car.
Following the shooting, the gunmen could be seen getting into the BMW but when they couldn't get it started, they ran to a Skoda Octavia that was parked nearby and made their escape. When gardaí searched the BMW they found a jerry can of petrol and two changes of clothes.
Mr Lynam said that his client's involvement with the BMW is suspicious but is not proof that he is guilty of murder or that he was one of the gunmen.
He may have believed the BMW was to be used for some act of intimidation or criminal damage linked to the feud between Jonathan Keogh and Gareth Hutch, but not murder, Mr Lynam said.
He described Ms McDonnell's description of the second gunman as "destructive" of the "already tenuous" prosecution case and said it provides support for Mr McConnell's innocence.
The circumstantial evidence does not carry the weight to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt and Mr McConnell should be found not guilty, counsel concluded.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens, presiding, said the court will deliver judgment on December 20th.
