A senior-ranking garda leading the Regency Hotel gangland shooting investigation described various requests from a murder suspect’s defence team as “ridiculous and endless”, and felt responsible for the manner in which his colleagues’ integrity was scrutinised in court, an inquest has heard.
Det Supt Colm Fox (56) was found dead in his office at Ballymun Garda station on February 10th, 2018, while Patrick Hutch, of Champion’s Avenue, Dublin 1 was on trial at the Special Criminal Court for the February 2016 murder of Kinahan organised crime group associate David Byrne at the north Dublin hotel. The trial collapsed following Det Supt Fox’s death.
In a letter written shortly before his death, Det Supt Fox referred to a perceived mistake he had made in relation to his investigation of the Regency Hotel shooting. Several garda witnesses – including senior ranking members, and members involved in the Regency Hotel investigation, told Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Wednesday they are unaware of what Det Supt Fox was referring to in his letter.
Now-retired Chief Supt Finbar Murphy said that during the Regency Hotel trial, Det Supt Fox said the case was “getting in on him”, and described as “ridiculous and endless” the demands for disclosures and other material from the defence. Det Supt Fox had said “the more he did for the defence, the more [requests] they were sending”, that the “timescales” they were expected to work to were “ridiculous”.
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The court heard evidence from several witnesses that Det Supt Fox said he found the Regency Hotel trial stressful, and specifically mentioned his upset at how the “truthfulness” and “integrity” of garda witnesses was challenged during a voir dire to determine whenever photographic evidence identifying the suspect Patrick Hutch was admissible.
Det Supt Fox told Det Insp David Gallagher, a colleague and friend, that he felt responsibility for the pressure and “the questioning of the integrity of garda witnesses in court”, and the “negative publicity” that they received.
Det Insp Gallagher told the court he noticed a change in Det Supt Fox at the commencement of the trial. He also stated that he was feeling “under pressure” to get a successful outcome in the trial.
Det Garda Fergal O’Flaherty, who gave evidence at the Regency Hotel case, said that Det Supt Fox checked in on him on several occasions during the trial. He said that he had told Det Supt Fox that the case – and the attention it was receiving – had influenced his family and personal life in a negative way.
The court heard evidence that the child of a garda witness giving evidence at the trial was subject to a comment at school, accusing their father of being a liar.
Det Garda O’Flaherty also stated how Det Supt Fox mentioned to him how Garda management was constantly “hounding him” about what was going on in the trial. “It was blatantly obvious, he was under pressure,” Det Garda O’Flaherty said.
When the court ruled that the identification evidence was admissible on February 2nd, Det Insp Gallagher texted Det Supt Fox to congratulate him on the result. He said that he replied: “It was important that the lads were found to be truthful. However, it is only half time.”
Det Insp Gallagher told the inquest he believed the stress and pressure that Det Supt Fox was under during the Regency Hotel trial, combined with his compassion for the welfare of others, led to him overthinking and overanalysing parts of his investigation, and arriving at irrational conclusions.
Retired Chief Supt Mark Curran said that in January 2018, before the trial, Det Supt Fox had stated that he had concerns about the procedures around the pronouncement of death of David Byrne, but he had later informed him that the issue had been resolved.
Several garda witnesses told the court that Det Supt Fox had a “great capacity and energy for work”, and was considered one of best detectives working in An Garda Síochána.
The inquest, sitting before coroner Dr Myra Cullinane, continues.
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