The jury in a Louth double murder trial has heard that partly-evaporated petrol vapour was found on a sample taken during the postmortem examination of one of the bodies.
A forensic scientist gave the evidence to the Central Criminal Court on Wednesday in the trial of a 34-year-old Dublin man charged with murdering two car thieves.
Jason O'Driscoll, with an address at Richmond Avenue, Fairview, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 31-year-old Anthony Burnett and 25-year-old Joseph Redmond in Co Louth on March 7th, 2012.
The trial has heard that firefighters were called to a burning car in Ravensdale Forest Park shortly before 11 pm. The bodies of the two Dublin men were discovered inside, with gunshot wounds to their heads.
Dr John O’Shaughnessy testified that he examined fire debris from the scene and postmortem for the presence of accelerants.
The forensic scientist told Alexander Owens SC, prosecuting, that he found partly evaporated petrol vapour on a sample taken from the postmortem exam of ‘Body A’. This was a sample of fire debris, including burnt fabric, he explained.
He said he also found partly evaporated petrol vapour and partly evaporated paraffin oil vapour in a sample that came from under the car.
He explained that the paraffin oil vapour could have come from something, such as a plastic, burning. However, the petrol vapour had to have come from petrol, he said.
He agreed with Seán Guerin SC, defending, that he would frequently examine samples from a car burnt out in a murder case. He was asked if it was rare that he would be dealing with the vehicle in which people had been killed.
“In my experience yes,” he said, confirming that it would usually be the getaway vehicle that would be burnt out.
The trial also heard from a forensic scientist, who examined mats from an abandoned silver Mercedes, which the prosecution said was the getaway vehicle.
Dr Thomas Hanigan said he examined the mats for the presence of firearms residue.
“I did not find any particles characteristic of firearms residue on the mats,” he said. “Particles consistent with having arisen from the discharge of a firearm were recovered from the mats.”
He explained that ‘consistent’ particles could be found in items other than firearms residue.
“These findings provided weak support for the suggestion that the shooter travelled in the silver Mercedes after the shooting, rather than he did not,” he said.
Under cross examination by Mr Guerin, he agreed that ‘weak support’ was at the bottom of the scale he was using.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of eight men and four women.