The Donegal man arrested for the murder of a hit-and-run victim a decade ago has told the Morris tribunal that he does not know how a signature purporting to be his got on to a piece of paper containing a false confession.
Frank McBrearty jnr (37) was giving evidence for the second day in the courthouse in Donegal town about his arrest and detention in December 1996.
He said that he had signed his name five times while in Garda custody: on the custody record at the beginning and end of his detention; on a permission slip allowing gardaí to take clothing for forensic examination; on a statement giving an account of his movements; and on a second statement in which he had said he would make no more statements.
But he said he did not make a disputed statement outlining an assault on Richie Barron (54), a cattle-dealer from Raphoe, who died in October 1996. "The tribunal has declared the statement to be false," said Mr Paul McDermott SC. "The only question is how it came into existence."
Mr McBrearty, who was questioned by four members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation from Dublin during his arrest, said that the document was a "forgery". He also said that at various times during his questioning a local Garda inspector, John McGinley, had entered the interview room. "If it is my signature, then the four boys from Dublin managed to get my signature on a piece of paper, or they have copied it, or John McGinley has copied it. That is the only scenario I can think of," he said.
"The answer Mr McBrearty makes is perfectly clear," the chairman said in summary.
Mr McBrearty said forensic tests had showone side of the document was written on a clean surface and the other on a dirty surface. He said no interview notes were read over to him during his 12 hours in custody and that interview notes produced to the tribunal were "fabricated". He described post-mortem photographs shown to him by the two Garda teams who interviewed him, Det Sgt Gerard McGrath and Det Sgt Eamon O'Grady, and Det Garda John Fitzpatrick and Det Sgt John Melody. "I still have nightmares about those photos," he said.
He said that he had been physically and mentally abused in custody. The worst of the abuse took place in the evening, after a local doctor had taken a blood sample. He said that the only defence he had was "to be argumentative" and that gardaí "had their blue uniform protecting them".