A 27-year-old man made no reply when he was charged with the murder of a man whose burned remains were found in the Phoenix Park, a court heard today.
The deceased, Gerard Donnelly, who is believed to have been from Tallaght in Dublin, had been sleeping rough in the park and his remains were discovered last Friday when gardaí spotted a fire near the Wellington Monument.
Mr Donnelly, who was in his thirties, had also suffered a fractured skull and was identified by gardaí through dental records and DNA samples.
Ciarán Moran, who has an address at Camden Hall, Camden Street, Dublin, appeared in court today charged with the murder of Mr Donnelly at Wellington Road, in the Phoenix Park, on or about November 29th last.
Mr Moran, who had a bruised eye and cuts to the top of his head, was wearing a grey sweater, black tracksuit bottoms and white runners, and remained silent during the brief hearing at Dublin District Court.
Detective Sergeant Thomas Lynch told Judge Ann Ryan that Mr Moran had been detained under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act following consultation with the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
At 10.30pm last night, the DPP issued a direction to charge Mr Moran with murder.
The charge was put to Mr Moran at Cabra garda station late last night. He made no reply after being cautioned.
Due to the nature of the charge, a bail application can only be made in the High Court.
Judge Ryan consented to Det-Sgt Lynch’s application to remand Mr Moran in custody for one week to appear again at Cloverhill District Court on December 10th .
Defence solicitor Andrew Vallely furnished the court with a statement of Mr Moran’s means and Judge Ryan noted that there was no objection to legal aid being granted to the 27-year-old accused.
She also agreed to Mr Vallely’s request for continued medical attention to be given to Mr Moran in prison.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old girl was arrested earlier today in connection with the murder.
She was arrested late last night and is being held at Blanchardstown Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
A 20-year-old man arrested yesterday remains in custody.