Touts, rats and death threats: ‘Dirtiest trial ever’ was marked by ‘outrageous’ campaign to intimidate the witnesses
The trial jury was not aware of the scale of interference with those who testified, writes Robin Schiller
A CAMPAIGN of intimidation against key prosecution witnesses was a constant feature throughout the Adrian Donohoe murder trial.
Before he was even arrested for murder, Aaron Brady was identifying people who could have potentially incriminating evidence against him.
Serious concerns were raised throughout the trial about witness interference, but the jury never knew about this.
Seven people were expected to give evidence about admissions Aaron Brady had made, but ultimately only Molly Staunton and Daniel Cahill appeared before the Central Criminal Court.
Today, the Irish Independent can reveal that:
:: Video interviews of a crucial prosecution witness were leaked online, calling the man a “rat” and a “tout”.
:: Detectives are investigating if the intimidation of some witnesses was “outsourced” to Dublin criminals.
:: The jail cell of violent thug and aggravated burglar Dean Byrne has been raided as part of the intimidation probe.
:: Key witness Molly Staunton received a death threat from Aaron Brady’s friend after giving her evidence.
While the murder trial has concluded, detectives are continuing a major investigation into witness intimidation across three countries.
The inquiry is being led by a Detective Superintendent from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI).
One senior officer described it as the “dirtiest” trial he had ever come across due to the campaign of intimidation. In some cases, people who overstayed their visas were threatened that their residency status would be exposed.
The most serious example of intimidation came to light in early May when the statement of a key prosecution witness, which was video recorded, was leaked across several social media platforms. It came at a critical time as witnesses living in the US were due to start giving evidence.
The key witness, an Armagh man who lived with Brady in the Bronx, recalled to detectives how the murder suspect told him: “I shot him, so what.”
His statements also included information on three other robbery suspects. During the interview, carried out on October 25, 2017, in the 47th police precinct in New York, he also said Brady would regularly talk about the killing when drunk.
In early May, four excerpts of these statements, along with a message labelling this man a “tout”, began circulating on Whatsapp. The videos showed the witness sitting in an interrogation room, giving a statement to three detectives.
The accompanying text message made claims that he had received a green card for his co-operation and also had criminal charges dropped.
During an in-camera hearing on May 8, Detective Inspector Mark Phillips said the aim of the posts was to intimidate this witness and also any other potential witnesses.
The incident was described by Mr Justice Michael White, a judge for over 20 years, as the most outrageous contempt of court he had ever come across and a “sobering day for the administration of criminal justice in Ireland”. Various social media companies had co-operated fully with the court.
Even before Brady was arrested for murder, the intimidation had started.
Prosecutor Brendan Grehan SC told the trial in early June, in the absence of the jury, that witnesses and their families in Ireland were subject to intimidation. By this stage it was accepted that several would not co-operate with the trial.
On July 15 detectives, backed up by heavily armed gardaí, carried out a series of raids on halting sites across Dublin.
Properties linked to Traveller criminals in Finglas, Blanchardstown, Balbriggan and Coolock were searched.
Detectives searched the Mountjoy cell of Dean Byrne (25), a violent criminal with over 120 convictions who is currently serving a lengthy sentence for aggravated burglary.
No mobile phone was located but a piece of paper with several phone numbers scrawled on it was seized. Gardaí are investigating if the intimidation of certain witnesses was “outsourced”.
Separately, American woman Molly Staunton testified via video-link in June that she heard Aaron Brady admit to shooting a cop while she was in his New York apartment with two other men.
Her evidence was interrupted by a male, later identified as her friend, who told her to “put a stop to it” and “no more testimony” before shutting down the laptop she was using. Ironically, the incident, which left the courtroom and the overflow court next door stunned in silence, had no links to the accused.
But that evening, after her evidence had finished, Ms Staunton was contacted by a former room-mate of Brady.
It was revealed during a sitting in the absence of the jury that an Armagh man made a death threat to the American woman via social media.
In one video sent via Snapchat, he shaped his fingers to imitate a gun, while saying, “Bang, bang, you’re dead”.
He later sent her another message which read, “You silly, silly girl”, along with a number of crying-laughing-face emojis. Screenshots were later shown to the court.
Det Insp Phillips told the court he assured her that the man was not in the US and that they had no immediate concerns for her welfare.
Bizarrely, the Northern Irish man had given a statement to gardaí saying Aaron Brady made admissions to him and was expected to give evidence. However, he refused to attend court and an arrest warrant was issued for him. He remains in the North after being deported from the US.
There were other less threatening attempts to interfere with witnesses via social media. In early June, lead prosecution counsel Mr Grehan said that a number of witnesses, if not all, had been contacted in various guises by Aaron Brady’s relatives and associates. One name in particular was being repeated.
The man had known Aaron Brady in Ireland before moving to New York, where he remains, and is heavily involved in the GAA.
He shaped his fingers while saying, ‘Bang, bang, you’re dead’
Gardaí received information from a number of people that they had been approached by him in the Bronx asking if they had spoken to Irish detectives.
Mr Grehan also said that the longer the trial went on, the more opportunities it gave Aaron Brady, or associates, to contact witnesses to put pressure on them not to testify.
On April 17, Ms Staunton was contacted by Brady’s wife, Danielle Healy, asking if she would speak to their lawyer.
The ex-girlfriend of another witness, who didn’t give evidence, was contacted by his sister Sonya Brady on April 8.
In the message, she said her brother had no involvement in the murder and that gardaí had “given people in New York money, arranged visa green cards, left people off with crimes and criminal records”. She said the Brady family won’t stop until they get the truth.
Prosecution witness Daniel Cahill moved away from the Bronx because of pressure from Brady’s friends living there. He continued to be the subject of serious threats at the time of giving evidence.
While the criminal trial has concluded, the investigation into the intimidation of witnesses is continuing.