A murder trial jury has been told it was never possible to carry out a positive visual identification on the body of a middle-aged man found lying dead and bound at the wrists in a cottage in Connemara in December 1997.
The man's nephew, Mr Patrick Joseph McGreene (29), with addresses at Corrib Park and St Mary's Road, Galway, has denied the murder of his uncle, Mr Tom Clisham (53), between November 24th, 1997, and December 4th, 1997, at Inverin, Co Galway.
He has also pleaded not guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Mr Clisham.
Supt James Sugrue of Galway told the jury of the "horrific scene" he found at the home of the bachelor when he arrived there at 4:35 p.m. on December 4th, 1997.
Dogs' paw prints were evident on the "considerable" blood deposits on the floor, and when he turned to his right, the superintendent saw a body on the bed in the small bedroom. There was a cat on the floor and another on the body.
Earlier, the local garda stationed at Inverin, Garda Pat O'Connor, told Mr Fergal Foley, prosecuting, that he received a report at 2:50 p.m. on December 4th regarding concern about Mr Clisham's whereabouts.
At about 3:05 p.m. he arrived at the cottage, he said. Garda O'Connor told Mr John Rogers SC, defending: "I could not positively identify the body except to say that it was the house of Tom Clisham, whom I'd known for the last 30 years, and Tom Clisham was missing."
Cross-examining Supt Sugrue, Mr Rogers put it to him that the body found in the house was never positively identified.
"It has not been positively identified," the witness replied. Supt Sugrue said under normal circumstances he expected Garda O'Connor would have been able to identify Tom Clisham but the body was mutilated.
Supt Sugrue agreed with Mr Rogers that he had left two dogs and two cats inside the house between the time the body was discovered and Garda technical experts arrived after 11 p.m.
Two chief superintendents had visited the scene briefly during that time, the court heard.
Supt Sugrue said he was "worried" about the dogs. They had at that stage been in the house for 10 days with the body of a dead man, he said, and he was unsure how they would react if approached.
Any attempt to remove the dogs or the cats would have risked interfering with evidence, the superintendent added..
He agreed with Mr Rogers that at least three people interviewed by gardai concerning the last sightings of Mr Clisham had made statements saying they had seen him alive after November 24th, some as late as November 28th.
Supt Sugrue said some people had originally said that, but they had changed their statements. They had mistaken the dates. It was the week previously they were talking about. "Well, we will see about that," Mr Rogers told him.
The people had corrected their statements afterwards, Supt Sugrue said. He said he was not aware of any suggestion that they had been persuaded or pressurised by a garda into doing that.
He also confirmed that three men were at first detained in connection with the death of Mr Clisham, one of them, the defendant, Mr McGreene.
He confirmed that on December 7th, 1997, he granted permission to other gardai to take fingerprints or photographs of each of the three detainees.
The two other men arrested are to give evidence today at the Central Criminal Court trial before Mr Justice Kelly.
They include Mr Michael Folan, described by the defence as "a key witness", who the State's counsel has said was drinking with the defendant and the deceased in the cottage on November 24th.