There was a distance of greater than one metre between a barrister and a man who was trespassing on his land when a fatal gunshot was fired, a jury has heard.
The Central Criminal Court has heard evidence that law professor Diarmuid Phelan shouted at two trespassers on his farm to “get back” before firing three shots from his Smith & Wesson revolver.
It is the State’s case that two of the three shots were fired into the air and the third connected with Keith Conlon. The prosecution has alleged that when the third shot was fired, the gun was pointed in the direction of Mr Conlon, who was shot in the back of the head when he turned away to leave.
Mr Phelan (56) has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Conlon (36), a father of four, on his land at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on February 24th, 2022. Mr Conlon, from Kiltalown Park in Tallaght, was seriously injured in the incident and died at Tallaght University Hospital two days later.
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Stephen Cole, a technical director of Acume Forensic, told prosecution counsel Róisín Lacey he had been supplied with Mr Conlon’s postmortem report and had produced a 3D graphic package to display a gunshot wound.
Under cross-examination, the witness agreed with Sean Guerin SC, defending, that his graphics would aid the jury in understanding where the injury was located and how it related to the internal anatomy of the head.
“You make no effort to represent how the body would appear in movement in a dynamic real life situation?” asked Mr Guerin. The witness agreed.
State pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers told Ms Lacey that she carried out a postmortem on Mr Conlon at Dublin District Mortuary on February 25th, 2022. She said she was aware the deceased had sustained a gunshot wound to the head and had been brought to hospital and placed on life support.
She testified that a CT scan of the brain showed a complete fracture of the right parietal bone extending towards the front and across the coronal suture of the brain, where the front and parietal bone connect.
The witness said the scan showed multiple tiny metallic fragments throughout the trajectory of the bullet in the brain matter on the right parietal and right frontal bones. She said inside the brain tissue was a haemorrhaging track where the bullet had gone through.
Dr Okkers said Mr Conlon weighed 67kg and was 5ft 5in or 5ft 6in tall. There was a plaster on the back of his head covering the gunshot wound, which entered behind Mr Conlon’s right ear. She said a deformed lead projectile measuring 8mm had been retrieved from the deceased’s head. Dr Okkers said the projectile went from back to front within the skull cavity, slightly upwards and to the left, and then towards the frontal lobe area of the skull.
Asked whether it was a “distant” gunshot, the witness said there was no powder tattooing or soot and the distance had been greater than one metre. Dr Okkers will continue to give her evidence on Thursday. The judge informed the jury that the prosecution’s case is close to its conclusion.
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