Tribunal told Gardai investigated murder without evidence

Gardaí in Co Donegal apparently believed Mr Frank McBrearty Jr and Mr Mark McConnell murdered Richie Barron without evidence that he had been murdered, the Morris tribunal heard today.

Counsel for the tribunal, Mr Peter Charleton SC, said two weeks after Mr Barron's death on October 14th, 1996, gardaí apparently had a murder investigation but without a report from a forensic pathologist.

And he said it was difficult to see how gardaí arrived at a conclusion of murder since the scene had been "driven over all night" and "trampled over that morning and washed by people", said Mr Charleton.

Gardai based their claim on a "bald statement to that effect from Garda John O'Dowd made to chief supt Denis Fitzpatrick. It was nothing more than an assertion because it contains absolutely no information as to how the crime was committed", the tribunal heard.

The source of this information was assumed to be Mr William Doherty, who had not yet had his reliability checked, Mr Charleton said.

Another witness, Mr Noel McBride, told gardai investigating Mr Barron's death that he haw Mr McBrearty Jr and Mr McConnell walking from the car park of Frankie's Night Club on the night of the death.

Mr Charleton told the inquiry "it is difficult to know how a man coming up on his own car park with his own first cousin could be the foundation of any reasonable suspicion that he murdered somebody", said.

He also read from a number of statements which showed that Mr Doherty and Mr McBride were not in the village of Raphoe on the night that Mr Baron died.

Mr Charleton also disclosed numerous failures in the garda investigation of the scene where Mr Barron was killed. When interviewed in 2000 about the handling of the investigation Supt John Fitzgerald said he was dismayed at the length of time it took for him to be notified and the fact that the scene had not been preserved.