The State intends to prove that a 28-year-old murder accused is the gunman who repeatedly shot a grandfather “quite viciously and without mercy” at the front door of his mother’s home, a prosecution barrister has told a jury.
Cailean Crawford (28) on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the murder of Thomas McCarthy on July 27th 2020 at Croftwood Park, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.
In his opening speech, prosecution counsel Bernard Condon SC told the jury that there is no doubt over whether Mr McCarthy was murdered, but rather it is a case of whether Mr Crawford is the one who did it.
He said there was “undoubtedly more than one person involved” in a “conspiracy” over the murder.
Mr Condon said that the Director of Public Prosecution's case will be made using evidence from phone call records, the movements of several vehicles on CCTV and other Garda investigations at the time.
He said that all evidence leads to July 2020 when Thomas McCarthy, who was 55 years old at the time, was “shot dead quite viciously without mercy” and there was “no doubt that what happened to him was murder”.
Mr Condon said that Mr McCarthy, who had five children and two grandchildren, was living in the UK at the time and had returned home to visit his family and his mother, who lived at the address in Ballyfermot.
He said on the morning of the shooting, Mr McCarthy had brought his brother to a hospital appointment, did some errands and then they both arrived back home at around 10.40am.
Mr Condon said that at 10.55am they heard a knock on the door and the deceased “was greeted by a man with a gun”.
The gunman fired “at least five times” at Mr McCarthy, with entry wounds mostly to the back. Counsel said Mr McCarthy “died very quickly in the hallway of his own mother’s house”.
It is the prosecution’s case that the gunman standing at the door was Mr Crawford, who it is alleged came to the scene in a blue Ford Fiesta car which counsel said was seen driving in and out of the area on CCTV.
Mr Condon said that the man stopped the car a short distance away, got out and set it alight. He then got into a silver Škoda Octavia car which had been parked up waiting.
That car then drove away and was seen on CCTV in Clondalkin, where it was also burned out.
The person was then seen getting in a black Toyota Avensis driven by someone else, with the vehicle then making its way to Castlegate Walk in Adamstown.
Mr Condon said a black Mercedes jeep was then seen driving from Castlegate Walk, where the prosecution alleges Mr Crawford got into the passenger side of the vehicle wearing a distinctive red jumper.
Counsel said there will be evidence that CCTV footage shows the accused back at work wearing the jumper, which it is alleged he had not been wearing when he arrived for work that morning.
In addition to this, prosecution counsel said there will be evidence that Mr Crawford first approached the house in the blue Ford Fiesta at around 9.30am, but returned to his starting position when he noticed that Mr McCarthy was not at home at the time.
Mr Condon said that the jury will hear phone calls which will show “part of the conspiracy that was going on at the time”. He also said that a SIM card was purchased, used for a short amount of time on the morning of the murder, and then was discarded.
The trial will continue tomorrow in front of Mr Justice Tony Hunt and a jury of six men and six women.
