Photo: The late Det Garda Adrian Donohoe (left) and his murderer Aaron Brady (right) who will serve 40 years for capital murder.
'The quest for justice for Adrian will continue' - Donohoe family
The family of the late Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, who was shot dead in the line of duty during a credit union raid over seven and a half years ago, have said 'the quest for justice' will continue for their beloved son and brother.
Aaron Brady (29) with an address at New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, was found guilty this morning of the capital murder of the Kilnaleck native and will be sentenced to the mandatory term of 40 years' imprisonment.
Following his conviction today after a lengthy trial that began last January and was interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Donohoe family have released a statement to The Anglo-Celt.
They are appealing for anyone with information in relation to the case to still come forward.
"Aaron Brady was not alone at Lordship on the 25th January 2013. The quest for justice for Adrian will continue and we appeal to anyone, near or far, with any information to assist the investigation, to come forward and do the right thing to bring all those involved to justice.
"While (some) justice has been done today, nothing will bring Adrian back to his wife, kids, his parents, family, colleagues and friends," they said, adding that Adrian was a "good man" who deserved justice.
Here is the statement, published in full:
In light of the result of deliberations at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin today the Donohoe family we would like to acknowledge some people.
We would like to thank the prosecution team led by Brendan Grehan and Lorcan Staines as well as staff from the DPP's office, especially Susan Hudson and Nicole Muldoon. Their dedication to this case has been extraordinary.
There have been many, many challenges throughout the case and to keep in on course has been a fantastic achievement in itself. Not only the length of the trial but the huge volume of work undertaken for well over 12 months to get it to this stage has been extraordinary and we thank you.
We would like to commend the jury, ordinary people, who were sworn in at the end of January. We would like to thank each and every one of them. Their lives have been put on hold for the last six months and the commitment they have shown through these extraordinary times has been humbling.
We would like to express our gratitude to Justice Michael White for his hard work and dedication - often sitting long hours and working weekends to keep this trial on track. It has taken an enormous effort to do this and we thank him most sincerely.
We would like to acknowledge each and every witness who gave evidence in the prosecution of this case. It is not an easy thing to do to come to court and we do not underestimate the stress that this causes people.
We would like to express our immense gratitude to Adrian's colleagues in Dundalk who investigated this while trying to grieve for the loss of a colleague. This has been one of the most comprehensive investigations in the history of this state and the professionalism and quality of this investigation has been borne out by the fact that it has been able to withstand the most robust and forensic examinations by the defence in this case. It is a huge credit to each and every person involved in the investigation that we stand here today.
It would be remiss of us not to acknowledge and thank the extraordinary help given to the investigation by law enforcement agencies around the world. We would like to thank them all but a special word of thanks has to go to the US authorities and especially to Homeland Security, who took on the investigation like Adrian was one of their own. The dedication of those agents, especially Special Agents Katsky and Wade, has been instrumental in bringing this man to justice today.
Aaron Brady was not alone at Lordship on the 25th January 2013. The quest for justice for Adrian will continue and we appeal to anyone, near or far, with any information to assist the investigation, to come forward and do the right thing to bring all those involved to justice.
While (some) justice has been done today, nothing will bring Adrian back to his wife, kids, his parents, family, colleagues and friends.
As has been said in this trial, Adrian was a good man and it’s the very least he deserved, that justice be served.
We finally like to acknowledge the media for their responsible reporting of the case throughout the trial. We thank them for respecting the privacy of our family and we ask that you continue to do this.
Sentencing
Brady had denied being the shooter and said he had no involvement in the robbery at Lordship Credit Union on January 25, 2013.
The jury had already found Brady guilty of robbery - some €7,000 in assorted cash and cheque - on Monday of this week.
This morning, the jury of five men and seven women found him guilty on the capital murder charge by a majority 11 to one verdict after 20 hours and two minutes spent considering their verdicts. They had been told by the judge that a majority of 10 would be accepted.
Mr Justice Michael White thanked the jury this morning, saying they had been "exceptional" in continuing to serve on the jury through a life threatening pandemic. He exempted them from further jury service for the rest of their lives.
A sentence hearing will be held on October 14 when victim impact statements will be heard.