A father today told of a telephone call which "dashed" any hope he had of finding his missing son alive.
Mr Gerald McGinley Senior told Belfast Crown Court how he received a call before the body was found telling him: "It wasn't a professional hit you know."
Mr McGinley (58) of Manorhamilton, Co Donegal, also told the court his son had told him he thought his life was threatened by the Real IRA.
The decomposed body of Mr Gerald McGinley (34) was found in Co Leitrim in June 2001 by a schoolgirl walking in the forest.
It is claimed by the prosecution that his wife and her lover were driven by "passion" to bludgeon him to death in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, and that his remains were transported across the border.
Ms Julie McGinley (31) and Michael Anthony Monaghan (44) both of Enniskillen, are jointly accused of killing Mr McGinley. Both deny murder.
Mr McGinley Snr told the jury of a telephone call he received from Michael Monaghan in the early hours of December 30th 2000.
"My son James called me saying there was a phone call for me," he said. He said the man introduced himself as Michael Monaghan, and asked him to "call off his men", saying a group of six men were looking for him.
"I said `that's nonsense, somebody's winding you up'".
Mr McGinley asked what time he had last seen his son before he went missing.
"He said out of the blue `It wasn't a professional hit you know'.
"After that I don't know what. I was hearing that my son was dead. My hope was dashed. I was living in hope until that phone call.
"As I interpreted the words that was the first time I was told my son was dead."
Mr Jim Gallagher QC later suggested to Mr McGinley that at one point he had received a call from somebody mentioning £20,000 paid to a hit man - which he later reported to the police.
"I suggest this is where you got the idea of a professional hit man," he told Mr McGinley.
The witness contested the suggestion, saying that the information had not come from a "reliable" person.
Mr McGinley also told the jury that his daughter-in-law Ms Julie McGinley had rung him on Tuesday August 15th 2000 to tell him his son had gone missing three days earlier.
"She said he had left home on Sunday morning and that some car came and picked him up. She told me he took some clothes and a thousand pounds in cash.
"I was very concerned. I was trying to force her to make immediate contact with the police. She said that he [Gerald] would kill her when he came back if she reported it to the police.
"She said she would make contact in the morning."
He told the court that after his son went missing he made inquiries among people who knew him about his possible whereabouts and even consulted a clairvoyant.
"I was very anxious to find out about my son," he said. "I was grasping at straws."
Mr Terence McDonald QC for the defence asked Mr McGinley whether his son's life had been threatened by "an organisation describing itself as the Real IRA".
Mr McGinley confirmed his son had told him this, but that he did not know when the threat occurred. He said he had not spoken to police about the threat.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
PA