THE PARTNER of a man shot dead near his home in Limerick, has told a jury that she saw the man accused of his murder standing over him with a gun in his hand on the night of the killing.
Claire Ronan was giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick where a 23-year-old man is on trial for the murder of Gareth Brosnan-Grant who was shot dead more than three years ago.
Greg Crawford, St Munchin’s Street, St Mary’s Park, Limerick, denies murdering the 25-year-old at St Ita’s Street, St Mary’s Park, Limerick, on October 8th, 2007.
In her evidence, Ms Ronan said she was in the kitchen of her home with her late partner’s mother when they heard a shot outside.
She said she ran outside and saw Gareth lying on the ground and Greg Crawford standing over him with a gun in his hand.
She screamed and Mr Crawford turned and looked before pulling up his hood and running away, the court heard.
She accepted under cross examination by defence counsel Hugh Hartnett SC that in her first statement to gardaí she said she had not seen the gunman’s face.
She denied she subsequently changed her mind insisting she was in shock when she made her first statement 48 hours after her partner was murdered.
She said she was “a lot more together” when she made her second statement and told gardaí she didn’t feel happy with her initial statement.
Sgt Gerard Cleary said when he called to Mr Crawford’s home shortly after the shooting the accused man came out of a washroom and appeared to be freshly showered and wearing clean clothes. The court heard he said he had been home with his parents at the time of the shooting and became agitated before he was arrested by gardaí.
Counsel for the State Tom Creed SC told the jury it would hear evidence that the gun used to shoot Mr Grant was found hidden in the back garden of Mr Crawford’s grandparents’ house the day after the murder.
The trial continues today.