An older brother of Dublin criminal Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch died as a result of a fall at his home in Dublin two years ago, an inquest has heard.
A sitting of Dublin Coroner’s Court heard John ‘Johnny’ Hutch (65) died on July 18th, 2019 at the Mater Hospital, two days after suffering significant head injuries after falling down the stairs in his home at Drumalee Avenue, Stoneybatter.
Mr Hutch’s injuries had initially raised concern among gardaí as he was regarded as a target for the Kinahan cartel because of its ongoing gangland feud with his younger brother.
However, Sergeant Liam McLoughlin said an examination of CCTV footage showed Mr Hutch had left his home on the morning of the fall at 11.45am when he got a lift to the City Arms pub on Prussia Street.
Sgt McLoughlin said he was collected by his wife, Vera, from the pub and arrived home at 1.55pm.
Ms Hutch told the inquest that her husband was struggling with his leg and his back at the time and had need of a walking stick but was too embarrassed to use one when he went outside his home.
She said she helped put him to bed after he arrived home from the pub.
Ms Hutch said she was watching TV later that afternoon when she heard a bang and went out to discover her husband at the foot of the stairs.
She initially thought he might be choking but then saw blood coming from his head.
Ms Hutch said she ran outside and sought assistance from neighbours who helped her to alert the emergency services.
The inquest heard gardaí, who were first to arrive on the scene, began efforts to resuscitate Mr Hutch before ambulance crews arrived and he was transferred to the Mater Hospital.
Mr Hutch’s son, Jonathan, said he had seen his father on the day before the fall when he appeared “pretty healthy”, although he acknowledged that he struggled walking and had suffered a number of previous falls.
Dr Orla McCormack of the Mater Hospital said the deceased has suffered cardiac arrest at his home and had recorded a low level of consciousness on admission to hospital.
A post mortem showed that Mr Hutch had died as a result of extensive bleeding in his brain, while noting he had some alcohol and prescribed medicine in his system.
The coroner Dr Clare Keane returned a verdict of accidental death.
Offering her condolences to the Hutch family, Dr Keane said it was “a sudden, unexpected and very shocking death”.
Gardaí maintained a low-key presence in the vicinity of the coroner’s court on Store Street and liaised with the family about their attendance at the hearing.
The inquest came just days after the Hutch family suffered another bereavement following the death of Gerry and Johnny’s sister, Tina Hutch Moore last Friday.
Ms Hutch Moore, who was in her 50s, is understood to have suffered a brain haemorrhage in her home at Portland Square in Dublin’s north inner city the previous evening before dying the following day at Beaumont Hospital.
Details of her funeral were not released publicly for security reasons due to fear of reprisal attacks by the Kinahan cartel.
The shooting of Gary Hutch on the Costa del Sol in September 2015 on the order of criminal gang boss Daniel Kinahan sparked a bloody gangland feud which has resulted in at least 18 deaths over the past six years.
Six members of the extended Hutch family have now died in tragic circumstances in recent years including Johnny’s son Gareth who was shot dead as part of the gangland feud with the Kinahan criminal gang while getting into his car on North Cumberland Street in May 2016.
Gerry Hutch is currently on the run following the issuing of a European Arrest Warrant by gardaí last month after the DPP directed that he should be charged in relation to the murder of leading Kinahan gang member, David Byrne, during a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall in February 2016.
Hutch (57) is understood to have been living in Lanzarote until recently but was last reported to be in hiding in Turkey.