More than 22 years after the naked body of Kildare woman Phyllis Murphy was found partially covered in twigs and branches in a wooded area close to the Wicklow Gap, a 54-year-old former Army sergeant, John Crerar, yesterday went on trial for her murder.
A jury of six women and six men heard that blood samples submitted for reanalysis 20 years after the killing and a change of evidence by an alibi witness would point to Mr John Crerar's involvement in her death and give "ample evidence" on which to decide his guilt or innocence.
In the Central Criminal Court, Mr Crerar (54), a father of five, of Woodside Park, Kildare, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Philomena Murphy (23), known as Phyllis, whose family lived in Kildare town, on a date unknown between December 22nd, 1979, and January 18th, 1980, within the State.
According to the prosecution counsel, Mr Michael Durack SC, at the time of her death, Phyllis Murphy was living in digs in Rathangan, Co Kildare. On December 22nd, 1979, she had spent the day in Newbridge buying Christmas presents for her family and having her hair done.
She was about to get the bus back to spend Christmas with her family in Kildare when she "vanished" between 6.30 and 6:45 p.m., Mr Durack said.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Mr Durack told the jury that blood samples taken from 50 men from the area during a major Garda investigation into the killing turned up no evidence at the time. The samples were retained. In 1998, the samples were re-examined. The 50 blood samples were sent for analysis to a laboratory in England. The results pointed to Mr Crerar, the prosecution counsel said.
Subsequently, the State Forensic Science Laboratory carried out further analysis.
"Again, the results of that analysis showed the evidence pointing to Mr Crerar. And that's how we are here today", Mr Durack said.
He told the jury that Phyllis Murphy, one of 10 children whose family lived in Kildare town, left school after her Group Cert and worked in various factories around Newbridge and Naas.
On December 22nd, 1979, witnesses saw her in Newbridge. At about 4 p.m., she went to the home of friends, the Martins.
Later, she left the Martins and went a few doors down to her brother's house. She left there shortly afterwards and went to her friend Barbara Luker's house.
Sometime between 6.30 and 6.40 p.m., Phyllis Murphy left the Lukers to go to the bus stop, which was a few houses away on the same side of the road, across from the Keadeen hotel.
"She was dressed in an overcoat, had her bags, she was wearing mittens and that's the last that anybody saw her alive", Mr Durack said.
Despite a major Garda investigation and searches involving the Army, the sub-aqua squad and dog teams, Phyllis Murphy had "vanished", Mr Durack said.
On the following day, December 23rd, in an area known as Colgan's Cut in the Curragh, on the edge of Kildare town, Phyllis Murphy's boots and cardigan were found, and some days later in the same area, her mittens and the belt of her overcoat were discovered. "The mittens were curious", said Mr Durack, "because the mittens had 60 pence in them, and 60p was the bus fare to Kildare."
On December 28th, in Lockstown, the remains of a fire were uncovered, which appeared to include parts of an overcoat, jeans and apparel.
On January 18th, 1980, her body was found in a wooded area on the way towards Turlough Hill power station in Wicklow.
During a post-mortem examination, the State Pathologist Dr John Harbison took samples from the body. These were preserved.
Some 50 men in the area, including the accused, voluntarily gave blood samples and these were sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory for testing.
It was not until 1998 when it was decided to look again at the samples that the indications coming from an English laboratory pointed to Mr Crerar.
Prosecution counsel said Mr Crerar, originally from Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, left school at 14 and joined the Defence Forces in 1966. He was a security guard in the Black & Decker factory in Kildare in 1979.
Mr Crerar was interviewed by gardaí on January 16th, 1980. Mr Durack said that since he was charged with murder, Mr Crerar had submitted another statement repeating his account of his movements on the night.
A co-worker, Mr Patrick Bolger, who was on duty on the night in question, was also interviewed by gardaí.
But during the re-investigation of the murder, when Mr Bolger was interviewed again, he said that at the time, he was afraid Mr Crerar would lose his job.
According to the prosecution counsel, Mr Bolger told gardaí he went out for 10 to 15 minutes after 10:45 p.m. John Crerar fell asleep and stayed there for the night, leaving Mr Bolger to "do the runs on his own." Mr Durack said this was contested by Mr Crerar.
The trial continues in the Central Criminal Court today.