Three “persons of interest” in the investigation into the murder of the brother of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch fled Ireland shortly after the fatal shooting and have never returned, an inquest has heard.
Detective Inspector Aidan Flanagan told a brief sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Monday that a file on the investigation into the murder of Eddie Hutch outside his home in Dublin’s north inner city eight years ago was forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) within the past fortnight.
Eddie Hutch (58), a father of five and taxi driver from Poplar Row, Ballybough, Dublin 3, sustained a number of fatal gunshot wounds after he was approached by several assailants as he pulled up in his taxi outside his house on February 8th, 2016.
A silver BMW 3 series vehicle, which was believed to be the getaway car, was found abandoned a short distance away on St Patrick’s Parade in Drumcondra.
Det Insp Flangan informed coroner Clare Keane on the progress of the case and said some 1,300 investigative tasks including the taking of 500 statements had been carried out by gardaí.
The senior detective observed that the investigation into Eddie Hutch’s killing had been “quite complex”.
He also said the case had collected 200 exhibits, while “tens of thousands of hours” of CCTV footage had also been examined.
“There was a lot of material to be scrutinised,” Det Insp Flanagan said.
Arrests
The inquest also heard that a total of 13 people had been arrested as part of the investigation to date.
However, Det Insp Flanagan said three individuals, whom he described as “persons of interest”, had left the jurisdiction shortly after Eddie Hutch's murder.
“They never returned, and they never made themselves available for the investigation,” he added.
Det Insp Flanagan said such issues had added to the difficulties and complexity faced by gardaí leading the investigation.
Under Section 25 (1) of the Coroners Act, he applied for an adjournment of the inquest as criminal proceedings are being considered in the case.
Det Insp Flanagan said the Hutch family were aware of the application and “understood the position clearly”.
No relatives of the deceased attended the five-minute hearing.
Det Insp Flanagan told the coroner that he hoped that gardaí would receive direction from the DPP on the case within the next six months.
Dr Keane granted the application and adjourned the hearing for mention to September 24th.
Feud
The shooting of Eddie Hutch took place just three days after an attack on a boxing weigh-in ceremony at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall which sparked a gangland feud between members of the rival Hutch and Kinahan criminal organisations.
During the incident at the Regency Hotel, a senior member of the Kinahan cartel, David Byrne, was fatally wounded.
Gardaí believe Eddie Hutch was shot in retaliation for the Regency shooting and was targeted by members of the Kinahan gang because he was the brother of Gerry Hutch, who had gone into hiding immediately after the shooting of Byrne.
Although he had a number of convictions for minor criminal offences, including small-time fraud and shoplifting, Eddie Hutch was not regarded as having any involvement in serious crime.
However, he was the subject of an investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau in the late 1990s.
Eddie Hutch was the first of six people associated with the Hutch gang to be murdered in the aftermath of the Regency Hotel shooting, and the feud has claimed a total of 18 lives to date since the killing of Gary Hutch almost nine years ago.
Several senior members of the Kinahan cartel left Ireland in the aftermath of the incidents in 2016.
In April 2022, the US authorities announced a reward of US $5 million (€4.57 million) for information leading to the arrest of senior members of the Kinahan cartel, including Christy Kinahan Senior and his two sons, Daniel and Christy Junior.
Four other senior members of the gang – John Morrissey, Bernard Clancy, Seán McGovern and Ian Dixon – were also named due to their role in providing material assistance to the Kinahans.
Last April, Gerry Hutch was found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel following a 52-day trial at the Special Criminal Court.
