A NUMBER of people ran out of a courtroom in Dublin yesterday, one shrieking, after footage of a killing was shown on large screens.
The CCTV footage of the shooting in a Dublin pub was shown during a trial at the Central Criminal Court, in which four Dublin men are charged with murdering a father of three.
Christopher Zambra (35), of Galtymore Road, Drimnagh; Damien Johnston (27), of Cashel Avenue, Crumlin; Peter Kenny (28), of McCarthy’s Terrace, Rialto; and Bernard Hempenstall (26) from Park Terrace in The Coombe have all pleaded not guilty to murdering John Carroll.
The 33-year-old from the Charlemont Street area of Dublin was shot dead on February 18th, 2009, in Grumpy Jack’s pub in the Coombe. The jury yesterday viewed footage from outside the pub, which showed a motorbike arriving, a person getting off it and the motorbike moving away.
Footage from inside the pub then showed a man in a helmet walking in the door where he stood shooting. Customers were seen running from the area. The footage lasted seconds.
As soon as the man in the helmet was seen raising his arm, a woman in the courtroom cried out and ran from the room with a number of people trying to console her. The group, understood to be the victim’s family and friends, did not return to the court for the rest of the day. Two people who were in the pub that night later gave evidence. Both were outside when the shooting took place.
Kenneth Dunne said he was on the phone outside the pub when he heard bangs. Inside, he saw a man lying on the floor. He recognised him as Mr Carroll. When asked who Mr Carroll had been sitting with, he replied: “Hempo”. He said he didn’t know Hempo’s first name at the time, but later agreed he was referring to Bernard Hempenstall, one of the accused.