A claim against the Minister for Defence by a former Army sergeant has been adjourned indefinitely in the Circuit Civil Court. Mr John Crerar (51) is in custody, charged with the murder of Phyllis Murphy, a 23-year-old Co Kildare woman, between December 1979 and January 1980.
Mr Crerar was due to appear yesterday to prosecute a claim for up to £30,000 damages for personal injuries, but the Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Smyth, was told that he was "unavailable". Mr Crerar, of Woodside Park, Kildare, alleges that he was partially deafened by gunfire while serving as a member of the Defence Forces for 13 years until his retirement in 1979.