A 20-year-old engineering student was last night remanded in custody after he was charged with the manslaughter of Midleton schoolboy Robert Holohan, who disappeared on January 4th and whose body was found dumped eight days later.
Mr Wayne O'Donoghue, of Ballyedmond Hill, Midleton, was charged with the unlawful killing of his neighbour, 11-year-old Robert, at Ballyedmond Hill, Midleton on January 4th when he appeared at a special sitting of Midleton District Court last night.
Det Sgt Brian Goulding gave evidence of arresting and charging Mr O'Donoghue with the offence.
"At 7.16 p.m. this evening, I arrested the accused at Oliver Plunkett Place in Midleton for an offence under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, namely manslaughter, the unlawful killing of Robert Holohan at Ballyedmond Hill on 4 January," said Det Sgt Goulding.
Mr O'Donoghue replied "Nothing to say" after caution, Det Sgt Goulding told the court.
Supt Liam Hayes applied to Judge Michael Pattwell for a remand in custody.
Mr O'Donoghue's solicitor, Mr Frank Buttimer, said that he was not making any application for bail at this stage but he would reserve his position with regard to a bail application at a future date.
Det Sgt Goulding agreed with Mr Buttimer that Mr O'Donoghue's arrest followed contact between his family and members of An Garda Síochána on Sunday which led to his client giving a voluntary interview to the gardaí about their investigation.
"That contact resulted in an invitation by the accused to members of An Garda Síochána to attend at his home where he agreed to submit to a voluntary process of interview in relation to the matter under investigation," said Mr Buttimer.
Supt Hayes asked for a remand in custody to the next scheduled sitting of Midleton District Court.
Judge Pattwell remanded the accused in custody to Cork Prison to appear again at Midleton District Court on Thursday.
Mr O'Donoghue, a student at Cork Institute of Technology, said nothing during the seven-minute hearing which was attended by Assistant Commissioner Mr Tony Hickey and other senior gardaí involved in the investigation of Robert Holohan's disappearance on January 4th.
Shouts of abuse greeted Mr O'Donoghue as he was hurried from the Garda station under Garda escort into the courthouse where over 50 trench-coated and suited detectives and uniformed officers cordoned him from the crowd in the packed courtroom.
Tall, slim and well dressed in a blue blazer, white shirt and blue tie, Mr O'Donoghue stared blankly into the middle distance as gardaí, press and others awaited the arrival of Judge Pattwell.
All rose as the judge arrived and Det Sgt Goulding gave evidence of charging Mr O'Donoghue.
The accused stared bleakly ahead as he was remanded in custody to appear at the next sitting of Midleton District Court, showing little emotion during the brief seven-minute hearing.
His parents, Raymond and Therese, sat between their two younger sons, their stunned sadness already evident throughout their silence and confirmed when, as their son was led away, Mrs O'Donoghue quietly began to dry away her tears.
The Christmas tree outside Midleton Courthouse was still standing, but stripped of its lights as the rain drizzled down on the crowd of some 80 or so people who gathered outside the nearby Garda station to see the latest twist to one of the town's greatest tragedies.
One woman - who had joined the search for Robert Holohan - cuddled her own young son and admitted that she wasn't quite sure why they were there. They had been in town and just come over, she said.
"It's weird - it's just so sad for everybody - I feel for Mark and Majella, but also this lad's parents. You see it on TV but you can change the channel, but there's no escaping it here in Midleton right now," she said.