The inquest into the murder of two women in Grangegorman in 1997 was adjourned for the 21st time yesterday, following the refusal of convicted killer Mark Nash to attend the inquest.
The Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, adjourned the inquest into the deaths of Sylvia Shields and Mary Callinan to consider a submission by Mark Nash's solicitor.
Mr James McGuill, solicitor for Nash, told the coroner that his client was in a "particularly vulnerable" position because he was seen as a prime suspect in the women's deaths. Nash confessed to the killings when he was arrested in connection with the deaths of Carl and Catherine Doyle in 1997. However, he later retracted this statement.
Mr McGuill said Nash remained under investigation by gardaí and an appearance at the inquest might impinge on that by raising issues of criminal liability. At the heart of the issue was "a controversial and disputed statement by Nash in relation to these murders", Mr McGuill said. It was his client's privilege to maintain a silence on this issue.
He said Nash also had concerns about his personal safety should he appear and believed he was not an "essential witness" for the inquest.
If his client was to be accused of these murders, he should be accused in court and not by a "side-show", Mr McGuill said. He believed Nash's constitutional rights would be "trammelled" by others seeking to extend the "legitimate scope" of the inquest into prohibited areas.
Dr Farrell said there was no question that the inquest would be permitted to go beyond its scope of inquiry. He had summoned Nash to attend because it seemed his evidence could be "of assistance" to the inquest, "and I put it no higher than that".
Mr Paul Coffey SC, for the Garda Commissioner, said Nash was "under active consideration" by gardaí in their investigation of the women's deaths. The Garda Síochána was concerned that the use of Nash's evidence in the inquest could have the "legal effect of immunising Nash from criminal prosecution subsequently.
"It seems to me that the court should be slow to embark on anything that might imperil a fair trial," Mr Coffey added.
Dr Farrell adjourned the inquest until November 20th and said he would give a ruling on the matter when the inquest came up for mention on November 14th.
The coroner apologised to Ms Stella Nolan, the sister of Ms Shields, for the lengthy delays in the proceedings.
The women's bodies were discovered in their community care home attached to St Brendan's psychiatric hospital on March 7th, 1997. The joint inquest opened on March 31st, 1998. Following numerous adjournments due to Garda investigations, it only started in earnest on Wednesday.
The inquest heard evidence from the State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, who said the deaths had been caused by "shock and haemorrhage" brought on by multiple stab wounds and sharp weapon injuries.
The inquest also heard that two knives with bent blades had been recovered in an upstairs bedroom. Ms Anne Lynch, the third occupant in the house, told the inquest of her shock in discovering the bodies. She last saw both women on the previous evening and later talked to Ms Shields in her bedroom at 11.40 p.m.
Ms Lynch then took some medication and wore her personal cassette headphones to bed. She awoke at 6 a.m. and found that her bag's contents were strewn on the stairs and the kitchen drawers had been pulled out. She then discovered Ms Shields's body in her bedroom and raised the alarm.
