:A GARDA has told the High Court he was devastated when accused in disciplinary proceedings of having information indicating a risk to the life of Latvian woman Baiba Saulite before she was murdered.
Garda Declan Nyhan said there were threats known to the Garda Síochána in relation to Baiba Saulite. “It was somebody else who had made the mistake, not myself, which ultimately lead to the situation which caused her death,” Garda Nyhan said.
Garda Nyhan, who was later cleared in a Garda disciplinary investigation of having information indicating a risk to her life and of failing to act on that, told the court yesterday he was “singled out”.
Ms Saulite, a mother of two, was shot dead by a gunman as she stood in the hallway of her home at Holywell Square, Feltrim Road, Swords, Dublin, on November 19th, 2006.
Her sons, aged three and five, were asleep upstairs and had been the subject of abduction proceedings against her husband who, at that time, was awaiting sentence.
Garda protection had been sought in relation to Ms Saulite prior to her death but had been refused, the court was told.
Garda Nyhan, attached to Swords Garda station, has sued the Garda authorities for alleged bullying and harassment, claiming he suffered psychological damage as a result of his treatment at work following the killing of Ms Saulite.
Garda Nyhan, who was involved with Sgt Liam Hughes in the prosecution of Ms Saulite’s husband in relation to the children’s abduction, said he and Sgt Hughes met Ms Saulite on November 14th, 2006, at Swords Garda station in relation to her victim impact statement.
Ms Saulite gave handwritten pages to Sgt Hughes who advised her on making a new statement, he said. The original was placed in a locker and he had not read the statement, he said.
When he went to work the day after Ms Saulite was murdered, Sgt Hughes showed him Ms Saulite’s victim impact statement in which a line read: ” I am scared for my life because Hassan is blaming me for what is going on in his life.”
In June 2007, Garda Nyhan said a disciplinary charge was laid before him that he had possession of information or documents and ought to have known of the real risk to Ms Saulite’s life and allegedly failed to take measures that would have been expected.
“I was devastated at the wording, I was being blamed for playing some part in her death. I was crushed, devastated. The blame was being put on me,” he said. It felt similar to a manslaughter charge, he added.
He had relayed his concerns to the disciplinary investigation team in March 2008, he said.
“There were threats known to the Garda Síochána in relation to Baiba Saulite. It was somebody else who had made the mistake not myself, which ultimately lead to the situation which caused her death.” He and Sgt Hughes were later cleared and found not to have been in breach of regulations on the matter, he said.
He was so concerned in the days after Ms Saulite’s murder for his and his family’s safety that he wrote to the Garda Commissioner.
A sergeant was sent to interview him and he thought something would be done but he got nothing back. Garda protection placed on his family home on the night of the murder was also lifted without explanation and he felt “a growing sense of isolation”.
Garda Nyhan also said he had in 1999 suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after a three-hour siege with other gardaí involving a man who threatened to blow up a building. He had moved to the community policing unit at Swords station in 2004, he said.
In 2006, there appeared to be threats and intimidation and attacks on witnesses in the abduction case relating to Ms Saulite’s children, he said. There was an arson attack on the home of her solicitor and on a car parked outside Ms Saulite’s home that August. Garda Nyhan said he believed he and Sgt Liam Hughes were the only gardaí dealing with Ms Saulite but it later came to light there was another investigation into threats to kill Ms Saulite’s solicitor. The case before Mr Justice Kevin Cross continues today.