Two of seven Dale accused ‘had blood on their clothes’

THE trial of seven Dubliners charged with murder has heard two of them had blood on their clothing shortly after a group was seen fleeing the bridge where 20-year-old Dale Creighton was found unconscious.

The jury was hearing evidence yesterday from the first garda on the scene in Tallaght on New Year’s morning 2014.

Dale Creighton (inset) died in hospital on January 2, 2014. The incident took place at the bridge over the Tallaght bypass between St Dominic’s Road and Greenhills Road.

A woman and six men, who are in their 20s and from Tallaght, have all pleaded not guilty to murder and are on trial at the Central Criminal Court.

They are Aisling Burke (23) and David Burke (28), both with an address at Beechpark, Collinstown, Co Westmeath; Graham Palmer (26) with an address at Park Avenue, Portarlington, Co Laois; Ross Callery (23) of Gortlum Cottages, Brittas, Co Dublin; James Reid (26) of Glen Aoibhinn, Gorey, Co Wexford; Jason Beresford (23) with an address at Coill Diarmuida, Ard a’ Laoi, Castledermot, Co Kildare; and Gerard Stevens (27) of Grosvenor Square, Rathmines in Dublin.

Garda Jennifer Walsh was working in Tallaght garda station shortly before 4am that New Year’s Day, when a call came in about an incident on the footbridge. She testified that she began watching a live feed of what was happening in the station’s CCTV control room and alerted a local patrol car.

Garda Avril Sharpe also watched some of the feed. She testified that she saw a number of males along with a female. She and two colleagues left for the bridge when they saw there was a person on the ground. “We stopped and observed a male. He was unconscious, not responding to us and badly beaten up,” she said. A colleague stayed with the man while she and another garda ran after the group onto Main Street. She said the two eventually stopped for them. She said the male gave his name as Graham Palmer. “There were blood spots on his face, which he couldn’t account for,” she said. “There was blood on the sleeves of his jacket.”

The female gave her name as Aisling Burke. Her runners were soaked in blood.

The trial continues.