Blood and semen samples the DPP alleges link former army sergeant Mr John Crerar to the murder of Kildare woman Ms Phyllis Murphy remained in Garda lockers for 17 years, a jury has heard.
In the Central Criminal Court, Mr Crerar (54), a father of five, of Woodside Park, Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Murphy (23), on a date unknown between December 22nd, 1979 and January 18th, 1980.
The trial resumed before the jury after over four days of legal argument. Mr Justice McKechnie told the jurors that "certain matters" had to be dealt with and that "certain rulings have been made." Ms Murphy's naked body was found at the edge of a spruce forest at Ballinagee, close to the Turlough Hill power station and the Wicklow Gap.
Yesterday, the jury heard witness evidence that semen swabs taken from Ms Murphy's body and a blood sample taken from Mr Crerar were retained along with other exhibits in one Garda station locker for eight years. According to the evidence, in 1988, they were removed and held in in another locker for a further nine years. The samples were taken for re-analysis in 1997 when the case was reopened.
The trial continues today.