The senior Garda officer investigating the death of cattle dealer Mr Richie Barron in Co Donegal said yesterday he had proceeded on the basis that Mr Barron died in a road accident until he was told by Chief Supt Denis Fitzpatrick it was "murder", writes Mary Carolan
Chief Supt John Fitzgerald also said he believed there was a "too-close" relationship between Chief Supt Fitzpatrick, Supt Kevin Lennon and Garda John O'Dowd. He believed this relationship existed because Chief Supt Fitzpatrick and Supt Lennon were "overly ambitious" and that Supt Lennon had a disproportionate influence on Chief Supt Fitzpatrick.
It would have been awfully useful to him, as head of the investigation into Mr Barron's death, if the name "Doherty" had been mentioned in connection with the information. He did not know then that "Doherty" was an intermediary and a source of information to Garda O'Dowd.
Some months before the death of Mr Barron on October 14th, 1996, he had applied for a transfer for reasons related to the effects of the relationship between the other three gardaí, he said. He had not stated those reasons. He eventually secured the transfer to Manorhamilton.
The tribunal has heard that Chief Supt Fitzgerald was the senior officer in Letterkenny when Mr Barron died.
Mr Barron's body was found on a roadside near Raphoe at about 1 a.m. on October 14th, 1996.
Yesterday Chief Supt Fitzgerald, who was contacted about the death at 7.45 a.m., said he had proceeded on the basis that the death was due to a hit-and-run. However, after he was told on the morning of October 15th that Mr Barron had been involved in an altercation in a bar on the night he died, and following other information, he had phoned a pathologist, Dr Barry, who had examined Mr Barron's body on October 14th.
During that conversation, he took the view that Dr Barry was "tilting somewhat towards a blunt instrument being used, as in an assault". He had considered whether the State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, should be brought in but decided against that. He could not recall whether a blunt instrument was mentioned on the evening of October 14th.
After speaking with Dr Barry on the 15th, he still believed Mr Barron died as a result of a road accident. "Within myself, I felt it was a hit-and-run."
However, on the morning of October 16th, just hours before Mr Barron's funeral, he had decided to seek the services of Dr Harbison. This was because of information from Chief Supt Fitzpatrick. "The information was that Richie Barron was murdered and Frankie jnr and Mark McConnell did it," he said.
He said Chief Supt Fitzpatrick gave him the information after calling him into his office. Chief Supt Fitzpatrick did not elaborate on the information and he did not ask him to. He presumed it had come from either Supt Lennon or Garda O'Dowd because they would not go to him. His focus then was on getting Dr Harbison because the information made the death "highly suspicious".
Supt Lennon intervened to say the assumption that the information had come from him was "totally incorrect". It came from Garda O'Dowd, the witness said.