Innocent father was murdered as part of gang feud
MURDER victim Clive Staunton – a distant relative of the Hutch family and not considered a criminal by gardaí – was ‘executed’ outside his home as part of the gangland feud, detectives believe.
The father of one was shot twice in the head as he lay injured in the middle of the road after his killer first fired three shots through the window of the victim’s van.
The Dublin street trader was first injured in a hail of gunfire on Thursday night as he parked opposite his house in Leixlip, Co. Kildare.
He managed to get out of his van and staggered a couple of steps across the road and towards his driveway when the gunman caught up with him.
He was then shot twice in the head as he lay in the middle of the road. Senior sources describe the murder as a ‘clinical execution’.
The 50-year-old victim’s elderly father was inside the house, at Glen Easton housing estate in Leixlip, when the shooting happened. The elderly man did not witness the murder but heard the gunshots.
Mr Staunton, originally from Greek Street in north inner-city Dublin, is the father of a grownup son, Ryan, who lives and works aboard. The young man was last night returning to Ireland, having been informed of his father’s death. Mr Staunton’s wife Jackie died from cancer almost three years ago.
Mr Staunton was in a new relationship since the death of his wife. The main Garda line of inquiry is that the street trader was shot dead as part of the ongoing Hutch-Kinahan feud.
However Mr Staunton himself was not in any way involved in the bloody feud, which has now claimed 19 lives.
The widower is distantly related to the Hutch family through his late wife. The victim was a friend of former boxer Anthony Fitzgerald, who is a relative of murder victims Gareth and Gary Hutch. Gardaí are probing whether he was targeted because of his links to the Hutch mob.
The street trader is not considered by gardaí to be a criminal. However investigating detectives believe he was involved in the sale of counterfeit sports clothing, namely soccer jerseys. He was also involved in the illegal street trade of cigarettes, gardaí believe.
Detectives are examining whether he could have been murdered by another criminal gang because of this activity, sources say.
However, sources acknowledged last night that his murder has ‘all the hallmarks of a Kinahan hit’. ‘It was a very well executed gangland assassination,’ a source said.
Detectives could not rule out last night that Kinahan gunmen could have been hired to carry out the murder on behalf of another criminal gang.
Mr Staunton had been selling merchandise outside the Aviva stadium, where the Republic of Ireland were playing Northern Ireland, just hours before he was gunned down on Thursday shortly after 9pm.
The street trader did not attend the match and left the vicinity of the Aviva at half-time, it is understood.
Gardaí discovered two burnt out vehicles believed to have been used in the murder in Manor Kilbride, Co. Wicklow, about half-an-hour’s drive from the scene of the murder.
One of the cars was a Grey Volvo, while the second was a Renault. Both were being forensically examined last night.
Yesterday morning, members of the Garda technical team arrived at the scene, and carried out house-to-house inquiries. The deputy State pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis, carried out an examination of the area afterwards.
Kate Mularky, who lives in the area where the shooting took place, said: ‘It is quite a shock. It is a quiet area. We heard the sirens and the helicopter. You hear about it all the time but now it’s right here. I think everyone is just keeping their head down. It is very scary and what can you say. We just didn’t expect it out here.’
Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘I didn’t know the man but I believe he was only living here a short while and he might have lost his wife too .... No point in trying to hide or run. They find you or they will go after you. Doesn’t matter if you’re involved or not. They’re just going around killing whoever’.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
‘All the hallmarks of a Kinahan hit’