Jury to begin deliberations in capital murder trial

The trial of a man accused of capital murder is entering its final phase as the judge transfers matters to the jury who are tasked with deciding whether Aaron Brady is guilty of the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe from Kilnaleck.

Closing speeches by the prosecution and defence have concluded and the trial Judge Mr Justice Michael White is today (Tuesday) explaining the law to the jury and going over the evidence they have heard since the trial began in the Central Criminal Court last January.

Aaron Brady (29) from New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Det Gda Adrian Donohoe who was then a member of An Garda Síochána on active duty on January 25, 2013 at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth. Mr Brady also denies a charge of robbing approximately €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques on the same date and at the same location.

In closing speeches last week Lorcan Staines SC for the prosecution said the accused "wore the shooting like a badge of honour" when he moved to America and believed he was "beyond the long arm of the law".Mr Staines told the jury that Mr Brady is a "skilled and practised liar" who told a "litany of lies" to gardaí and the jury for his own advantage.

He said that, when Mr Brady moved to America, he used the shooting of Det Gda Donohoe to "intimidate and curry influence" and talked about it in front of a number of people on different occasions, "sometimes crying, lamenting in drink or bragging with his chest puffed out".Mr Staines also described the deceased as a "good man, a good husband, father, brother son. He was a member of his community, he was a colleague."

He said that, when Mr Brady pulled the trigger, "he knew he was pulling that trigger at a member of An Garda Síochána."

Counsel described the prosecution case as a circumstantial one and said that it would be "an affront to common sense" that all the matters that aroused suspicion against Mr Brady could all be mere coincidence.Defence counsel Michael O'Higgins SC told the jury that Daniel Cahill, who he described as the most significant witness in the case, "might have had a lot of motives to make things up".He said the background to Mr Cahill giving evidence was "shrouded in mystery" and that he may have been subjected to threats or inducement by American Homeland Security before speaking to gardaí.

Mr Cahill has told the trial that he heard Mr Brady admit to killing a garda on three occasions. Mr Cahill also revealed that he spoke to gardaí in New York on July 25 last year after Homeland Security agents came to his home in circumstances where he had overstayed his 90-day visa waiver by several years.In his closing speech to the jury, Mr O'Higgins also criticised the garda investigation, accusing investigators of closing their eyes to evidence and burying their heads in the sand over evidence that his client was laundering diesel at the time Det Gda Donohoe was shot.

The matter will go to the jury of five men and seven women this week, who have also been told that they may consider a verdict of manslaughter if they find that Mr Brady killed the garda but only intended to fire a warning shot.