June 2004 Ireland:THE man whose body was found in a shed behind Dublin Airport was killed in a bid to "teach him a lesson" for allegedly molesting children, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
One of two men denying the manslaughter of Noel Heffernan (35) of Ballyfermot Road, told gardai a third man had planned to give the victim "a few slaps because he was a child molester" and added: "I didn't know he was going to be killed."
Kevin McCarron (51) of Doyle's Lane, Arklow, Co Wicklow, who, with Joseph Zambra (28), of Inagh Road, Ballyfermot, has denied the manslaughter of Mr Heffernan, said the third man planned the assault as "a favour for a mate" whose child the deceased man had allegedly abused.
The two men have also denied charges of false imprisonment and assault of Mr Heffernan on a date unknown between August 5 and 15, 1999 at Kingstown, St Margaret's, Dublin.
Mr McCarron has also pleaded not guilty to stealing the van which Mr Heffernan used to make deliveries for his employer, Spring Fresh Company Limited; and Mr Zambra further pleaded not guilty to allowing himself to be carried in the stolen van.
The body of Mr Heffernan (35) of Ballyfermot Road was found in an abandoned shed behind Dublin Airport by a man walking his dog on August 15, 1999, 10 days after he was last seen alive.
The "third man" mentioned has been named in court as Tony Dempsey who was described in evidence as "a hardened criminal" with a conviction for armed robbery. Det Sgt Thomas McCarrack said Mr McCarron told gardai he had only known "a man was going to be taught a lesson". Mr McCarron said Mr Dempsey had asked him to drive him to the abandoned farm house behind the airport. They were hiding behind the bushes when he saw a blue Toyota Hiace van being driven into the region.
He identified Mr Heffernan as driving and Mr Zambra as the passenger. As the van pulled over, Mr Dempsey went over to it, and with Mr Zambra, pulled Mr Heffernan out of the van and as Mr Dempsey proceeded to beat the victim, Mr McCarron and Mr Zambra were told to leave the scene and drive the van away.Mr McCarron told gardai he realised something had gone very wrong when he saw a news bulletin on television a few weeks later reporting the body found at the back of the airport.
The court heard the State was not alleging the two accused had murdered the victim but had assisted a "third man" in doing so.
The hearing continues before Judge Joseph Matthews and a jury of 11. ..News Source.. by Azra Naseem
Main charge against Arklow resident and Dublin man is withdrawn
7-8-2004 Ireland:
An Arklow resident who was accused of the manslaughter of a Dublin man has had the charge against him dropped, following several days of legal argument at his trial in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.Kevin McCarron (51), of Doyle's Lane, Arklow, along with Joseph Zambra (28), of Inagh Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, had been charged with the manslaughter of Mr. Noel Heffernan in August 1999.
Manslaughter charge dropped
An Arklow resident who was accused of the manslaughter of a Dublin man has had the charge against him dropped, following several days of legal argument at his trial in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Kevin McCarron (51), of Doyle's Lane, Arklow, along with Joseph Zambra (28), of Inagh Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, had been charged with the manslaughter of Mr. Noel Heffernan in August 1999.
Early on in the trial, the court had heard that McCarron and Zambra had been asked by a third man to 'help him sort out' Mr Heffernan after he had allegedly molested children.
The trial then lapsed into a number of days of legal argument in the absence of the jury, and when the jury was finally recalled, Judge Joseph Matthews told them they could be discharged as the manslaughter charge against the defendants had been dropped.
Following the withdrawal of the main charge, Zambra pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of falsely imprisoning Mr Heffernan and allowing himself to be carried in a stolen van. McCarron pleaded guilty to stealing the vehicle in which Zambra was a passenger.
The vehicle was a van driven at the time by Mr Heffernan, who was a vegetable delivery man with Spring Fresh Ltd.
Judge Joseph Matthews remanded both on bail, with signing on conditions at their local garda stations, for sentence on October 8, 2004.
During the four-week trial, of which two weeks were spent in legal argument in the absence of the jury, the court had heard that it was not the State's case that Zambra and McCarron had murdered the victim but had assisted a 'third man' in doing so.
The jury was also told that the third man was a known Dublin criminal called Anthony Dempsey who had falsely told both Mr Zambra and Mr McCarron that Mr Heffernan was a child molester and he needed their assistance in teaching him a lesson.
Zambra, for whom Mr Heffernan had babysat when he was a child, had taken Mr Heffernan to the shed behind the airport where his body was found. He had asked Mr Heffernan to give him a lift to the location and the now deceased man agreed.
Dempsey and McCarron were at the scene when they arrived, and shortly after that Zambra and McCarron left in Mr Heffernan's van, leaving him alone with Dempsey, a convicted armed robber. His body was found on August 15, 1999 by a man out walking his dog.
Mr Michael O'Higgins SC for McCarron, and Mr Niall Durnin SC, for Zambra, both told Judge Matthews that neither man knew that Demspey's intention was to kill Mr Heffernan.
Counsel said they thought he was going to be 'given a hiding' and be 'taught a lesson' for child molesting, an allegation which investigating gardai told the court had no foundation in truth. ..News Source.. by
No comments:
Post a Comment