Journalist Veronica Guerin's last telephone call before she was shot dead was to a Garda chief superintendent's mobile phone message service.
The Special Criminal Court heard the 18-second call was made at 12.54 p.m. on June 26th, 1996, when the Sunday Independent crime reporter was on the Naas Road. She was returning from Naas District Court where she had been fined for traffic offences.
Det Garda Pat Bane of Lucan said he had known Ms Guerin since May 1994 and was familiar with her voice. He said on June 27th, the day after her murder, he listened to a tape-recording of a message playback service for a mobile phone number. Det Garda Bane said he recognised the voice as that of the late Ms Guerin.
"She said: `I did very well. Fined a maximum of 150 quid, alt . . .', and there was a crack and that was the end of the message," he said.
Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, for the accused, Mr John Gilligan, objected when the prosecution said it would play a tape-recording of Ms Guerin's message.
He said the defence was accepting that an interrupted message was received at 12.54 p.m. on June 26th, 1996, and the court was entitled to draw inferences that that was the time Ms Guerin was attacked.
After a short adjournment, Mr Justice O'Donovan, presiding, said the court had decided not to listen to the tape because nothing was to be gained following the defence admission.
Det Garda Patrick Kelly, from the telecommunications section at Garda Headquarters, said the mobile-phone number was issued to a member of the Special Detective Unit in 1988.
Earlier Mr Jim Faughnan, an Eircell official, said the records showed that the last phone call made by Ms Guerin's mobile phone was at 12.54 p.m. on June 26th, 1996, and the call lasted 18 seconds.
He agreed with Mr Tom O'Connell SC, prosecuting, that the number called by Ms Guerin was registered to a chief superintendent in the Crime Section of the Garda Siochana.
Mr Faughnan said records also showed there was a gap in calls made by Ms Guerin's phone between 10.05 a.m. and 12.36 p.m. on June 26th, 1996.
It was the 28th day of the trial of Mr Gilligan (48), who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Guerin (37), at Naas Road, Dublin, on June 26th, 1996. The trial continues today.