A man has been found guilty of the murder of a 47-year-old man whose skeletal remains were found in a jute bag at a ravine in Whitewell, Rostellan, Co Cork on 29 January 2024.
The jury of ten men and two women spent just under five hours deliberating at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork before finding 33-year-old Niall Long, formerly of St Michael's Close in Mahon in Cork, guilty of the murder of Kieran Quilligan.
They will resume their deliberations in relation to his co accused 27-year-old Luke Taylor, previously of Cherry Lawn in Blackrock in Cork city, tomorrow morning.
The two accused went on trial earlier this month charged with the murder of Mr Quilligan who was last seen alive on 1 September 2023.
He had been missing for five months when his remains were detected by gardaí who had brought a cadaver dog to search scrubland in east Cork.
Victim 'lured' to his death
In his closing speech to the jury, prosecution senior counsel, Donal O'Sullivan said that Mr Quilligan was "lured" to his death.
He stated that Mr Taylor brought him to a laneway at St Finbarr’s Place in Cork city on 1 September 2023 where he and Long "ambushed" him.
Mr O’Sullivan said that the men then threw Mr Quilligan's body into the boot of a car.
He said that the "instigating factor" in relation to what occurred involved Mr Quilligan stealing drugs from Long earlier that day.
Mr O’Sulllivan said Mr Quilligan's body was removed from Little Island three days later and dumped in East Cork. He added that but for the incredible investigative work by gardaí his remains would never have been found.
The jury also heard evidence from Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster who carried out a post-mortem on the remains at Cork University Hospital.
Dr Bolster indicated that while an exact cause of death could not be established, what was not at doubt was that the injuries suffered by Mr Quilligan were consistent with a "severe assault". Those injuries included fractures to his ribs, chest, leg and hand bones, jaw bones, neck and skull.
The jury also heard evidence from Garda Sergeant Maurice O’Connor, who was responsible for analysing mobile phones seized during the course of the investigation.
Sgt O’Connor gave evidence to the effect that Long had sent a text message to his mother Janice Long on 2 September 2023. She had texted him saying that her jeep smelled of Dettol.
Sgt O’Connor said that Long replied to her saying that the boot of the car was cleaned because "the fella that robbed me got a hiding and was thrown in the boot after".
The jury heard evidence from 47 witnesses.
Mr O’Sullivan noted that the jury had watched a "staggering amount" of CCTV footage. Over the course of three days of the trial they watched 433 video clips.
The charge facing both accused was the murder was carried out on a date unknown between 1 September 2023 and 29 January 2024, at an unknown location within the State of the District Court area of Cork city.
