A video found on an external hard drive seized from the home of Graham Dwyer, showed him strangling Elaine O'Hara, a jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Det Garda Sgt Peter Woods told the court he saw the footage, along with other videos, after they were retrieved by his colleague Det Garda Bríd Wallace. He said he saw Mr Dwyer kneeling behind Ms O’Hara and placing a clear plastic bag over her head and wrapping a cable around her neck to seal the bag.
“He can be seen tightening the cable and at one stage Ms O’Hara is seen going limp and falling to one side,” Det Sgt Woods said.
Mr Dwyer (42), an architect of Kerrymount Close, Foxrock, is charged with murdering childcare worker Ms O’Hara (36) on August 22nd, 2012. The prosecution alleges he killed her for his own sexual gratification. He has pleaded not guilty.
Ms O’Hara’s remains were found in forestry on Killakee mountain, Rathfarnham, on September 13th, 2013. They were discovered by a woman out walking dogs.
Det Sgt Woods, from Blackrock Garda station, agreed with Seán Guerin SC, prosecuting, that he played a lead role in the investigation into Ms O’Hara’s death. He also agreed he was the arresting officer on the morning Mr Dwyer was arrested at his home.
He said he had viewed all of the videos found on the hard drive and that some of them showed incidents of stabbing and others portrayed sexual activity and BDSM (bondage, domination, sadism and masochism).
They also included either the use, or the pretended use, of a knife and strangulation.
Mr Guerin asked if Ms O’Hara and Mr Dwyer were clearly visible on the video of strangulation and Det Sgt Woods said they were.
He also agreed that six of the videos were contained in a file in a folder called “EH” and he was satisfied the two people in the videos in this file were Ms O’Hara and Mr Dwyer.
Det Sgt Woods said they were mostly filmed in Rockville Crescent, Blackrock, and one was filmed at Ardmeen Lodge, Newtownpark Avenue, where Ms O’Hara lived before moving to Belarmine Plaza, Stepaside.
Photographs
He said he recognised Ms O’Hara having viewed 45 photos from her computer, some of which showed her naked and in which a mole could be seen.
Mr Guerin said Mr Dwyer could also be recognised from a tattoo on his left shoulder that had already been described in court.
Remy Farrell SC, defending, interjected to say that there was no dispute on the identification.
Mr Guerin told the court that not all of the women in the video clips were capable of being identified, but Mr Dwyer’s wife, Gemma Dwyer, was not one of them.
Det Sgt Woods agreed that was the case.
