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You're listening to the Mens Rea podcast,

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and this is the story of

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Kenneth O'Brien. At

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half past three on Saturday, the sixteenth

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of January twenty sixteen, a

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man and his partner were out walking along

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the ground canal at Artcloc County

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Kildera when they noticed a dark,

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gray, wealy suitcase. Floating

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on the surface of the canal about

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two meters from the water's edge.

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The suitcase had red ribbons attached

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to it and looked relatively new, which

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struck the couple as unusual.

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The man used a stick from a nearby

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hedgerow to pull the case towards him

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before retrieving it from the water to

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see what was inside. Upon

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opening it, they made the Grizzly discovery

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of what appeared to be a plastic bag

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with red liquid in it, along with

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some human skin. The

1:23

man immediately found Gardein and

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told the emergency operator, quote,

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I think we found a body. Offers

1:30

from the nearby leaked slip station attended

1:33

the scene and determined that the bag contained

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the torso of a large Rea Caucasian

1:37

man. They commenced a full murder

1:39

investigation, bringing in the Garda

1:41

technical bureau and the sub Aqua

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team to comb the canal and its surrounds

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in an effort to uncover any forensic

1:48

evidence or any further human

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remains. There was initial

1:53

concern that the body could be that of thirty

1:55

nine year old Wickloman, Barry Corcoran,

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who had disappeared under suspicious circumstances

2:01

six months before. However,

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a preliminary examination conducted

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on-site by deputy state pathologist

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doctor Michael Curtis found that

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the victim had died in recent hours or

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days. This ruled out the

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possibility of it being Korchren, who

2:17

was believed to have been killed soon after his

2:19

disappearance the previous July. The

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waterway where the suitcase was found

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was banked by a popular walkway stretching

2:27

five kilometers between Artclop Bridge

2:29

and Kiernestown Bridge. Based

2:32

on local eyewitness accounts, the

2:34

suitcase was present in the water at

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nine AM on the day that it was discovered.

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However, the pathologist's preliminary

2:41

examination put the time of death sometime

2:43

within the previous three days. So

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it was thought it was possible that the suitcase

2:48

could have lain there a day or two before

2:50

being discovered. Superintended

2:53

Jerry Wall of leaked lip artist station,

2:55

who was leading the murder investigation, made

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a public appeal for any pedestrians

3:00

or cyclists who had traveled along

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the walkway in the last few days to make

3:04

contact. The following

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afternoon on Sunday the seventeenth of

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January, the partial remains were taken

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to NACE General Hospital so that a full

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post mortem could be carried out. This

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confirmed that the man had not been stabbed

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or shot in the torso. And in the

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absence of further remains, doctor Curtis

3:22

was unable to determine a cause of

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death. The suitcase and plastic

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were also taken for forensic testing

3:29

to see if any fingerprints or DNA evidence

3:31

might provide a link to the victim or

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killer. Gurdy

3:36

set about trying to establish the identity

3:39

of the victim and where the murder

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occurred. A review of recent

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missing persons reports brought up no

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immediate leads and without the victim's

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head, hands, or feet. Investigators

3:50

had no dental records or fingerprints

3:53

to go off. Given the

3:55

particularly brutal nature of the dismemberment

3:57

it was thought that machinery or power

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tools could have been used. And so three

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days after the discovery of the torso,

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the inquiry team made a fresh appeal.

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Asking business owners who may have been away

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from commercial properties over that weekend

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to check for any signs of unusual

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activity or evidence that a cleanup

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might have taken place. It was

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stressed that this appeal was not

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just for local businesses and killed

4:22

air, but for the wider community

4:25

in neighboring counties. This wider

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appeal was due to the fact that art clock

4:29

sits on the Kildaire Dublin border

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and investigators suspected that the

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killing may have occurred in Dublin before

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the body was transported to kill air

4:38

and dumped in the canal. Because

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of this, the investigation team in the Kildaire

4:42

division was liaising closely with

4:44

colleagues in Western and Southern Dublin.

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Although art clock is a quiet and remote

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area, it has a history of being used

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as a dumping ground by crime gangs

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based in the nearby capital. Kornico

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Keith, writing for the examiner, pointed

4:59

out that back in the year two thousand,

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two young Dublin men named Darren

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Carey and Patrick Murray, had been

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shot and killed over a drug debt and

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was dumped just five kilometers up

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the canal. A

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breakthrough came for Gardy on the afternoon

5:15

of the nineteenth of January when

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DNA swabs that were taken from the

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mother of person who had been reported missing

5:21

on January this sixteenth came

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back with an exact match. The

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dead man was identified as Kenneth

5:28

O'Brien, a thirty three year old

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father of one, who was originally

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from ballet firm ish, Dublin. O'Brien

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was described as being a respectable family

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man who was six foot two in height with

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a stocky build and beard. According

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to Andrew Filan reporting for the Irish Independent,

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Kenneth was a JCB driver and

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a diesel fisser. Who would move to Australia

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in twenty thirteen so that he could earn

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more money and send it back to his partner

5:55

of fifteen years, Immerdun, who stayed

5:57

behind in Ireland. With their young son.

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In the intervening years, he traveled back

6:02

to Ireland for occasions like his son's

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birthday and Christmas, But in December

6:06

of twenty fifteen, one month before

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his brutal murder, he had returned from

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Perth for good settling into a house

6:13

in Glendochen with his partner and four

6:15

year old a child. On the

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morning of the fifteenth of January twenty

6:19

sixteen, Immerdun said that she

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and her son had kissed Kenneth goodbye

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before she dropped the little boy to her mothers

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and went to work. Ken reminded

6:28

her that he had some work on in Limerick

6:30

that day and would be home late. The

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couple exchanged text messages throughout

6:35

the morning with O'Brien inquiring whether

6:37

Emur had arrived at work okay given

6:39

the cold and icy road conditions. However,

6:42

he stopped responding at about half past

6:45

one. And when Emur tried

6:47

to ring him, his phone was off, which

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he found odd. She heard

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nothing more until the early hours

6:53

of Saturday morning when at half

6:55

three. She received a text message

6:57

from an unknown number proporting to

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be from O'Brien, saying he had

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lost his phone and would be staying overnight

7:04

in a hotel. Then

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at seven forty nine AM,

7:08

she received another message from the same

7:11

number that read, quote, so here it

7:13

is. I'm heading for the ferry today.

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I can't handle being at home and I want out.

7:17

You care more about our child and your family.

7:20

I've met someone else. She came to Ireland

7:22

yesterday. I measure today. I'm going

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with her. Emer was

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immediately suspicious of this message.

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As the language and tone were totally

7:31

different from O'Brien's normal texting

7:33

style. She also noted that

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their child's name was spelled wrong.

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And there were no full stops in the message, whereas

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Kenneth was normally very particular about

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spelling and punctuation when texting.

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BUSH WHEN EMER searched THE HOUSE

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TO SEE IF ANYTHING WAS MISSING, SHE REALIZED

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THAT KENITH'S PASSPORT WAS GONE.

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Dunn then began to ring around O'Brien's

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friends. And from that, she

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learned that the Limerick job had been called

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off on the Thursday evening. At

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around midday, she spoke to a close

8:02

friend of O'Brien's, a man by

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the name of Paul Wells senior. Wells

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explained to Imrath, O'Brien had

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met someone else in Australia and

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that they had been together for a while before

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he returned to Ireland. Later

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that afternoon, Wells showed her photographs

8:19

and text messages between O'Brien and

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the woman, including a number of intimate

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pictures. He then told her that

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if she was going to report O'Brien missing,

8:27

thus she shouldn't mention his name to the

8:29

police. After this, Emir

8:32

spoke to Katz's family, and that evening,

8:34

the thirty three year old was reported missing

8:37

by his aunt. Gardee

8:39

gave a press briefing following the identification

8:42

of the torso. Superintended Wall

8:44

described O'Brien as a family Saying

8:47

there was no indication as to why he had fallen

8:49

victim to this particularly gruesome

8:51

crime. There was nothing to suggest

8:54

that he had been in fear of his life, It

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was just a normal man going about his business

8:58

and trying to get some work. Detectives

9:01

began inquiries into Kenneth O'Brien's

9:03

movements dating back to when he had returned

9:05

from Australia to determine if he might have

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been involved in any incident that could be

9:09

linked to his death. They examined

9:12

his mobile phone and computer activity.

9:15

And on January the twenty first, it emerged

9:17

that although O'Brien didn't know

9:19

that his life was under thresh. He

9:21

had in fact received some threatening text

9:23

messages in the lead up to his death.

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Egarde, a spokesperson said that

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at that early stage, they were not following

9:31

a definite line of inquiry, but O'Brien

9:33

had no known connection with crime. So

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they were looking into the possibility that he was

9:38

targeted because of events in his private

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life rather than gang land activity.

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Investigators were also liaising

9:46

with police in Australia to determine

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if anything had happened during his time in Perth

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that could have led to his murder. A

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search conducted at O'Brien's house on

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Leland Road, Clint Dahlkeen, gave investigators

9:58

little to go on, and they struggled

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to account for his movements during the twenty

10:02

four hour period from when he was last

10:04

seen alive to the discovery of his remains

10:07

in the grind canal. His

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partner, Emer, had taken O'Brien's car

10:11

to travel to work that morning, so

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officers were looking into the possibility that

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he was collected by someone. Who had gone on

10:18

to murder him, if this was the case,

10:20

then it would suggest that O'Brien had known

10:22

his killer. As the

10:24

investigation intensified, new

10:26

lines of inquiry opened up, including

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a theory that O'Brien may have had a brief

10:31

fling with a woman who was known to be friendly

10:33

with a feared west Dublin criminal.

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Another leads that officers were looking into

10:39

was the possibility that Kenneth had become

10:41

involved in business or financial dealings

10:43

with a West Dublin crime gang that went

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sour. On Saturday,

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the twenty third of January, one

10:50

week to the day after Kenneth O'Brien's

10:52

mutilated remains were found, Mens

10:55

reported in the evening herald that the murder

10:57

was now being considered a gang

10:59

hit by Gardein. The theory

11:02

was that O'Brien had been persuaded by

11:04

a notorious crime gang to hand over

11:06

cash sums on the promise of a return

11:09

on his investment. This was

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supported by the fact that the victim had

11:13

been seen in the art clock area a number

11:15

of times in the lead up to his vicious killing.

11:18

One source close to the investigation was

11:20

reported as saying, quote, this may

11:22

have worked out once or twice before, but

11:24

something went wrong along the way. Kenneth

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was not a gangster. He wasn't into

11:29

drugs or violence, but he was taken advantage

11:32

of by people who grew up around him

11:34

and knew he was making money in Australia.

11:37

There was speculation that somehow this

11:40

arrangement had fallen through and

11:42

when O'Brien decided to stay in Ireland

11:44

after returning home for Christmas, the

11:47

gang planned and carried out his

11:49

murder. Gardy believed

11:51

that finding the location of the killing

11:53

was key to their investigation and

11:55

so they continued their extensive painstaking

11:58

search across several sites along the grand

12:00

canal. They also carried out

12:02

a number of checkpoints throughout art

12:04

clock. In a bid to uncover any

12:06

new leads or reports of unusual

12:09

activity in the area. Then

12:12

on Sunday, the twenty fourth of January,

12:14

eight days after O'Brien's partial

12:16

remains were found in the suitcase. There

12:18

was a significant boost for the investigators.

12:21

When members of the Garda underwater unit

12:23

recovered a bag containing human

12:26

limbs in the water a few hundred

12:28

meters upstream from Salons town.

12:30

Some ten kilometers away from art

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clock. The following day,

12:34

two more bags were discovered in the same

12:36

area, one of which contained O'Brien's

12:39

severed head. All three bags,

12:41

which were weighed down with bricks, were

12:43

removed from the water and taken for

12:45

forensic examination. In

12:48

addition to the remains, divers also

12:50

recovered pieces of a power tool fourteen

12:53

kilometers away in the royal canal

12:55

near Kirkland House in Maynooth north

12:57

killed air. Although the equipment

13:00

did not include a saw or a blade,

13:02

it was described as being a component

13:04

part of a device which may have been used

13:06

in the dismemberment of O'Brien's body.

13:10

Following an examination of the body parts

13:12

by the deputy state pathologist, O'Brien's

13:14

cause of death was found to be

13:16

a gunshot wound to the head. There

13:19

were no other serious wounds found

13:21

on his body nor was there

13:23

any indication that he had been held

13:25

against his will for any period of time.

13:29

The daily twist that the bizarre

13:31

case was taking grips the public.

13:33

And as superintendent Wall

13:35

continued to appeal for anyone with information

13:38

to come forward, the public response was

13:40

huge. By this time, Gardy

13:43

were following over three hundred lines

13:45

of inquiry, and though they now

13:47

focused heavily on the West Dublin heroin

13:49

dealing gang believed to be connected

13:51

to O'Brien, Gerdi stressed

13:53

that this wasn't their only avenue

13:56

of investigation. Two

13:59

weeks after O'Brien's body was found,

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two officers traveled to Australia to

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delve further into Kenneth's background

14:06

there. In an attempt to pin down

14:08

a possible motive for the murder. The

14:10

working theory was that if he had previous

14:13

contact with criminals, he may have

14:15

been under thresh while working in Australia.

14:18

They hoped that by tracking his activities in

14:20

Perth and interviewing the people he was

14:22

in regular contact with, they might

14:24

be able to build a clearer picture and

14:26

establish whether or not he was under

14:28

threat during that time. However,

14:31

his colleagues in Australia have refuted

14:33

this describing O'Brien as a hard

14:35

worker who lived for his family and

14:37

who wasn't in trouble with anyone. Meanwhile,

14:41

back at the investigative headquarters in

14:43

leaked slip, a team of more than eighty

14:46

officers continued to work around the

14:48

clock to find the location of the gruesome

14:50

murder scene. O'Brien's mobile

14:52

phone, computer, and bank records were

14:54

also being analyzed for anything that might

14:56

shed more light on the motive for his killing.

14:59

In the course of these inquiries, investigators found

15:02

that O'Brien had transferred over fifty

15:04

two thousand euros into the personal

15:06

account of his friend. Paul

15:08

Wells senior in the eighteen month

15:10

period prior to his death. Wells

15:13

was known to Gardein and was believed

15:15

to have worked as an enforcer or hired

15:17

muscle for a number of criminal factions.

15:20

This strengthened the theory that O'Brien

15:22

was handing over cash sums to fund

15:25

drug dealing activities under the promise

15:27

of a return on his investment. On

15:41

February the third, more than three

15:43

hundred mourners gathered as Kenneth

15:45

O'Brien was laid to rest. He

15:47

was described fondly as a strikingly

15:50

big and handsome man who could be

15:52

a bit of a prankster. His family

15:54

thanked the public for the outpouring of

15:56

support and comfort over the past three

15:59

weeks, saying they were grateful to

16:01

be in a position to put their son to rest

16:03

peacefully. A photograph

16:05

of O'Brien's son sitting on his dad's

16:08

digger was brought to the altar and

16:10

a floral bouquet in the shape of a digger

16:12

was also laid out in his honor along

16:15

with family pictures and other tributes.

16:18

Many mourners became overwhelmed when

16:20

Kenneth four year old son cried out

16:22

data as his remains were removed

16:24

from the church to be transported to

16:26

Newland's cross cemetery for burial. Finally,

16:31

on February the fifth of twenty sixteen,

16:33

there was a break in the case when a man

16:35

presented himself at Lake Slipperta station

16:38

and made a voluntary statement. Saying

16:40

that he had disposed of a still

16:42

chainsaw as well as its chain and

16:45

blade across two locations in

16:47

Kildaire on January the nineteenth and

16:49

twentieth. His name was Paul

16:51

Wells junior. The thirty year old son

16:54

of the man who had received large

16:56

cash transfers from Kenneth O'Brien

16:58

and who had told Emer Dunn about

17:00

O'Brien's infidelity. The

17:03

next day, Wells junior was arrested

17:05

in connection with the murder with office also

17:08

raiding his father's house and arresting

17:11

Wells senior. Over the next

17:13

few days, Wells junior sashed through

17:15

fourteen interviews where he told

17:17

Gardy that he was giving a voluntary statement

17:19

because he, quote, couldn't take it

17:21

in his head and that his father

17:24

was, quote, physical and fearful. He

17:26

described Well's senior as a monster

17:29

who would go to great lengths to protect

17:31

himself and said that his family were, quote,

17:33

stuck in the middle because of one psychotic

17:36

animal. Wells junior

17:38

said that on the evening of January the

17:40

sixteenth, the day after O'Brien was

17:42

last seen alive, he met well

17:44

senior in the car park of Tesco and

17:46

Sellbridge. They went for a drive

17:49

and as they traveled towards Strathart

17:51

village, He said that Wells senior was

17:53

so unhedged that he worried his father

17:55

might shoot him. They pulled

17:57

up at the canal on the Salons Rea, and

18:00

Wells senior got out saying he needed

18:02

a piss. He went to the

18:04

boot of the car and after some shuffling

18:06

about, Will's junior said that his father

18:08

threw several bags into the water.

18:11

Wells junior then said that he himself

18:14

had thrown the chainsaw motor into the

18:16

royal canal at Carton House, claiming

18:18

that he didn't know it had been used. To

18:20

dismember Kenneth's body at the time.

18:22

The following day, he also disposed of

18:24

the chainsaw blade and the chain in the Cura.

18:27

He asserted that he had helped to get rid of

18:29

the chainsaw out of fear and believed

18:32

that his father would shoot him if he had contacted

18:34

the authorities sooner. Wells

18:37

junior also described for Gardy how

18:39

he had traveled to Latvia for his stag

18:41

party on January the twenty second. And

18:43

said that while on a night out, his

18:45

father had imitated the motions of

18:47

a chainsaw. Wells junior asked

18:50

him if he had murdered O'Brien and Wells

18:52

senior had smarked in response, saying

18:54

he was left with no choice. When

18:57

Gardein asked if he knew what his father's

18:59

motive for the brutal killing was There

19:01

was no mention of the speculated Gangland

19:04

lengths. Will's junior told

19:06

Gardein that his father claimed O'Brien

19:09

had been pressuring him to kill his

19:11

partner, he were done. On

19:13

the day of Kenneth's murder, Wells

19:15

senior alleged that they had gotten into

19:17

an argument And when O'Brien

19:20

pulled out a gun, Wells senior

19:22

had taken it off him and had

19:24

shot him in the head. Well

19:26

senior said he'd then panicked because he

19:28

couldn't move the body, so he came up

19:30

with the plan to use the chainsaw. According

19:34

to an article published in the Irish Sun,

19:36

when Wells junior was asked if he knew anything

19:39

about the fifty two thousand bureau that O'Brien

19:41

had transferred to his father, he said,

19:43

quote, I believe my father spent the

19:45

money. He's a sick individual. I

19:47

couldn't think why he would kill him. I can

19:49

nearly guarantee that Ken wanted his money

19:51

back That's why this happened. It's always

19:53

money with my dad. Money and Garda

19:56

informants. That's all he ever talked about.

19:59

Paul Wells senior was a short,

20:02

rotunded father of five with a violent

20:04

criminal history, having negotiated

20:06

Dublin's underworld by ingratiating himself

20:09

with the IRA and organized crime

20:11

gangs. According to John Mooney's

20:13

biography of him in the Times UK,

20:16

Wells had trained as a butcher and also

20:18

bridged miniature pedigree rabbits.

20:21

He was considered a suspect in the murder of

20:23

Desi Fox. A bookmaker who was

20:25

ambushed on his way to a race meeting at

20:27

the Cura in nineteen ninety. Fox's

20:29

attackers shot him dead before escaping

20:32

with a briefcase containing a large quantity

20:34

of cash. In nineteen ninety

20:36

six, Wells served a seven year sentence

20:39

for possession of firearms, and

20:41

following his release from Port Leish Prison,

20:43

he fell in with dissident Republicans and

20:46

joined Obelina Herron, an IRA

20:48

splinter group. He became

20:50

the organization's commanding officer

20:52

for Dublin, a role which put him

20:54

firmly into the sites of the Gardein, the

20:56

PSNI, and MI five.

20:59

Wells was said to be part of a network

21:01

of dissidents who plotted to mount an attack

21:04

on London in the run up to the twenty twelve

21:06

Olympics. However, he was distrusted

21:08

by many Republicans and eventually drifted

21:11

away from the group after being accused

21:13

of passing information onto the special

21:15

branch. When questioned

21:17

by Gardein about the murder of Kenneth O'Brien,

21:19

forty eight year old well senior initially

21:22

denied any involvement. Saying

21:24

he had last seen Kenneth on the eleventh of

21:26

January when he had dropped into his house

21:28

on Leland Road for a coffee. When

21:30

he learned that Ken had gone missing a few

21:33

days later, he said his first instinct was

21:35

that his friend of ten years had, quote,

21:37

done a runner. Well's senior

21:39

painted Kenneth O'Brien to be a secretive

21:42

man with a roving eye, telling investigators

21:44

that his partner, Emur, had caught him cheating

21:46

in the past. When asked if O'Brien

21:49

had any enemies, well senior said that

21:51

Kenneth could be volatile with drink

21:53

and would have Rea ins. He

21:55

also said that the people Kenneth

21:57

worked for in Australia were involved

21:59

with biker gangs and drugs. Well's

22:02

senior continued to protest his innocence

22:05

over the course of two interviews with Gardein.

22:07

However, when confronted with the statements

22:09

made by his son, he began to talk.

22:12

Repeating the story that Wells junior had

22:14

relayed to investigators, Wells senior

22:16

claims that O'Brien had offered him twenty

22:19

thousand euros. To assassinate Immer

22:21

done so that he could return to Australia

22:23

with their little boy. Senior

22:26

said that he had refused to carry out the hit

22:28

and told Gardein he withdrew the money

22:30

O'Brien had transferred to him and gave it

22:32

back his cash, but that O'Brien

22:34

still continued to pester him about assassinating

22:37

his partner. And so it was according

22:39

to Wells senior that on the fifteenth of January

22:41

twenty sixteen, Kenneth had arrived

22:44

at his house in Barnum or Park, Fingles,

22:46

to give him a gun to use for the assassination.

22:49

An argument ensued in the back garden

22:52

and well senior insisted that he had shot

22:54

O'Brien himself defense using

22:56

that same gun. Speaking

22:58

in disjointed sentences, Well's

23:01

senior told Gardy that immediately after

23:03

the shooting he'd collapsed. And lost

23:05

track of time. When he came around,

23:07

he began to panic that his son would be home

23:10

soon, so he went to the shed to

23:12

retrieve an orange chainsaw. That

23:14

Kenneth O'Brien had loaned him

23:16

about eighteen months before. Well

23:18

senior explained that he had removed all

23:20

of O'Brien's clothing before rolling

23:23

and dragging his body to the other end

23:25

of the garden, positioning him close enough

23:27

to the wall so that nobody outside could

23:29

see him. He said it had taken him twenty

23:31

minutes to start up the chainsaw. At

23:34

this stage in the interview, Wells senior

23:36

broke down, sobbing, quote,

23:39

my friend, a human being.

23:41

He told Gardy that he had dismembered O'Brien

23:44

on the ground and then changed his clothes

23:46

before going back into the shirt. There

23:49

he put the legs, arms, and head into

23:51

plastic bags. He said he had forgotten

23:54

to put O'Brien's hands into the bag

23:56

after accidentally leaving them on a shelf

23:58

in the shed. He racked the torso

24:00

and plastic, placing it behind his

24:02

bins to conceal it. Before later

24:04

putting it into a suitcase. Wells

24:07

senior claimed he had thought about burying

24:09

O'Brien's body, but as he didn't have

24:11

a pick or a shovel, he disposed of the

24:13

remains in the ground canal instead. Well

24:16

senior outlined to Gardi how

24:18

the following morning He went to his local

24:21

supermarket and bought two five

24:23

liter bottles of bleach, a bottle

24:25

of detergent, and a roll of black

24:27

plastic bin bags. Paying for them

24:29

with a twenty euro note. Later,

24:32

Gardy would collect CCTV footage

24:34

from Bat Shop, which showed senior

24:36

commonly going about his business like any

24:38

other customer. Wells senior

24:41

had then gone back to his home, to

24:43

a scene which he described as carnage

24:46

to Gardein and proceeded to

24:48

attempt to clean up the mess he

24:50

had created. On

24:53

Friday, the twelfth of February twenty

24:55

sixteen, Paul Wells senior was

24:57

remanded in custody for the murder

24:59

of Kenneth O'Brien. When

25:01

charged, he told Gardy, quote,

25:03

I am responsible for killing Kenneth.

25:06

He appeared before judge Anthony Halpin

25:09

at a sitting of Dublin district corf

25:11

dressed in a blue hoodie, black trousers

25:13

and white runners. Immer Dunn

25:15

was present for the hearing, watching

25:17

from the public gallery as well senior

25:19

sashed with his arms folded. Legal

25:22

aid was granted after a statement of

25:24

means was produced by defense solicitor,

25:27

Kieran Conway. It would

25:29

be some time before a trial in connection

25:31

to the murder of Kenneth O'Brien would be held

25:33

however. Over the next few months,

25:35

Paul Wells senior appeared in court a number

25:37

of times while awaiting the completion of

25:39

the book of evidence. The delay

25:42

was such that in May of twenty

25:44

sixteen, judge Blake informed the

25:46

state that it was his hope to see progress

25:48

sooner rather than later. The judge

25:51

was informed that the case file consisting

25:53

of thirteen volumes of evidence and

25:55

testimony had been sent to the DPP

25:57

that morning. Then with

26:00

a trial date set for February twenty

26:02

eighteen, a further delay occurred when

26:04

Wells senior's legal team made

26:06

an application for adjournment. According

26:09

to senior counsel Michael O'Higgans appearing

26:11

for mister Wells senior, This was

26:13

a case of particular complexity and

26:16

involved a so called complicated backstory.

26:19

There were also out standing inquiries

26:21

and investigation needed in relation

26:24

to Kenneth O'Brien's time in Australia, which

26:26

the defense needed time to complete.

26:29

Mister O'Higgens was also concerned

26:31

that the proceedings themselves might be quite

26:33

lengthy and asked that a new date

26:35

be assessed that would ensure that the trial

26:37

would not be interrupted by end of term

26:40

court breaks. The defense's application

26:42

for an adjournment was granted and

26:45

a new trial date was sashed for early

26:47

October. Twenty eighteen. On

26:51

October the eighth, twenty eighteen, a

26:53

jury was sworn in before mister justice

26:56

Michael White in the Central Criminal Court.

26:59

Paul Wells senior pleaded not

27:01

guilty to the murder of Kenneth O'Brien

27:03

on or around January fifteenth

27:05

of twenty sixteen. He

27:08

did admit to shooting mister O'Brien

27:10

but claimed that he had acted in self

27:12

defense. The judge warned

27:15

the twelve jurors that the case was expected

27:17

to last at least six weeks,

27:19

which would take them into the start of December

27:21

at the earliest. He gave them the

27:24

addresses of the accused and

27:26

said that any juror who knew him

27:28

or the victim should not serve. The

27:31

trial opened at the Central Criminal Court

27:33

on Wednesday the tenth of October twenty

27:35

eighteen. In his opening statement,

27:37

Sean Galán, senior counsel for the state,

27:40

laid out the particulars of Kenneth O'Brien's

27:42

murder to the jury. He detailed

27:45

Kenneth's known movements on the day he was

27:47

killed and how Emerdunn had

27:49

become suspicious when she received

27:51

questionable text messages from

27:53

someone claiming to be her partner. The

27:56

prosecutor told the jury, quote,

27:58

you'll be satisfied on the evidence that

28:00

those texts did not emanate

28:02

from Kenneth O'Brien. Mister

28:05

Ghislain went on to describe how

28:07

miss Dunn had contacted the accused

28:09

who told her that Kenneth was having an affair

28:12

and showed her some text and photos

28:15

relating to this other woman. Turning

28:17

to the circumstances of the recovery

28:19

of the remains in the Grand Canal and Kildaire,

28:22

mister Golan told the jury how DNA

28:24

samples taken from the torso had

28:26

confirmed the identity of the then

28:29

missing Kenneth O'Brien. Mister

28:31

Galán told the jurors that the cars

28:33

of death was found to be a gunshot

28:35

wound to the head, and that amputation

28:38

occurred in a manner consistent with the

28:40

use of a high speed mechanical saw.

28:43

Quote, the prosecution case is that

28:45

Kenneth O'Brien was killed at an address

28:47

in fingerless. By Paul Wells senior.

28:50

Josh murdered there. His body,

28:52

dismembered there. Mister Golan,

28:55

all informed the jury that the investigation

28:57

had uncovered that mister O'Brien had

28:59

been sending money from Australia into

29:01

the accused bank account. Natasha

29:05

Rea reporting for the Irish mirror

29:07

wrote that the two walkers who had found

29:09

O'Brien's torso were the first civilians

29:11

to give evidence in the trial. The

29:13

man testified that the suitcase he had

29:15

found was heavy and that his girlfriend

29:18

had to hold onto him while he retrieved

29:20

it from the canal. He said

29:22

that he'd called Gardein to tell them he had

29:24

found a body, but the Gardein

29:26

who he'd spoken to wasn't initially

29:29

inclined to put much stock in his suspicions.

29:32

That was until his girlfriend had

29:34

pulled back the plastic a little further

29:36

to check the suitcase's contents. He

29:39

told the jury, quote, I also

29:41

saw what appeared to be skin with hair

29:43

on us. The witness recalled

29:45

that he then confirmed to the Garda

29:48

that they had found a bag with human remains.

29:51

That day, the court also heard that

29:53

Gerdi conducted a preliminary investigation

29:56

and verify that the remains were

29:58

that of a human torso. The

30:01

witnesses who discovered O'Brien's skull

30:03

and limbs in the subsequent week also

30:05

testified as did the Dog Walker

30:08

who had discovered the components of the chainsaw

30:10

in the Royal Canal and the Garda

30:13

who found the chainsaw blade and chain

30:15

in the Cura. The jury

30:17

were shown the three parts of the chain

30:19

saw along with photographs of

30:21

the remains. On

30:24

the second day of the trial, a Virgin

30:26

Media Installer who was carrying out work

30:28

at O'Brien's home on the day he disappeared

30:30

gave evidence. He said that

30:32

he'd arrived at the house on Leland Road

30:35

at about ten AM on the fifteenth of

30:37

January, and that O'Brien

30:39

had been in good form. He was the

30:41

only person in the house and nobody else called

30:43

during the hour that he was there. When

30:45

asked if O'Brien had spoken to anyone

30:47

on the phone, the witness said that he'd recalled

30:50

a couple of text messages being sent and

30:52

received, but he didn't remember seeing

30:54

Kenneth speaking on the phone. CCTV

30:58

footage was then shown to the jury with

31:00

Gerda Shona Nolan talking them

31:02

through the footage. It depicted

31:04

Well Senior driving in the direction

31:07

of Artclough at about six AM

31:09

on the morning of Saturday, the sixteenth of

31:11

January twenty sixteen. After

31:14

a break for lunch, detective sergeant

31:16

Thomas Power of the Garda Ballistics

31:18

section testified that he had attended

31:20

the scene where three bags containing

31:22

O'Brien's head, arms, and a leg

31:25

were found. Another bag

31:27

that had been recovered in searches the day before

31:29

had contained the other leg. The

31:32

bags were heavy cloth shopping

31:34

bags tied at the handles and

31:36

each also contained a red brick.

31:39

Detective Sergeant Powers said that he'd also

31:41

attended the autopsy on the remains

31:44

where he was handed a discharged bullet

31:46

that had been removed from the head. On

31:49

examination, the detective sergeant

31:51

said that he determined the bullish to be a

31:53

thirty eight Rea three fifty seven caliber

31:56

bullet. He went on to say, quote,

31:58

to date, the firearm has not been

32:00

recovered, but I can estimate the

32:03

type of firearm, a semiautomatic pistol.

32:07

On Friday, the twelfth of October, Emmer

32:10

Dunn, Kenneth's partner, took to the

32:12

stand. She recalled the events

32:14

of January the fifteenth and how she

32:16

had thought it odd that Kenneth had stopped

32:18

responding to her messages that afternoon.

32:21

She told the jury that she then received messages

32:24

in the early hours of January the sixteenth,

32:26

purporting to be from Kenneth, saying that he

32:28

was running away with another woman. When

32:31

told by the accused that Kenneth had been

32:33

having an affair, Dunn said that she was,

32:35

quote, up the walls and that

32:38

she collapsed. Later, she

32:40

said, well, showed her intimate photos of

32:42

O'Brien and another woman, which made

32:44

her feel weak. Michael O'Higgans

32:46

for the defense began his cross examination

32:49

by telling miss Dunn that he would have to

32:51

ask her some personal questions. He

32:53

also explains that his client was

32:55

asserting that mister O'Brien was pressuring

32:58

the accused to kill her so that he

33:00

could take their child back to Australia. Miss

33:03

Dunn agreed with O'Hagan's assertion

33:05

that Kenneth O'Brien was a secretive man

33:08

who had had affairs in the past.

33:10

She said she hadn't known that he was earning

33:12

the equivalent of sixty thousand euros

33:15

after a tax in Australia until his

33:17

death. When asked if Kenneth

33:19

had been mean with money, miss Dunn

33:21

replied simply that Kenneth was

33:23

cautious. Next, mister

33:25

O'Higgans read from statement given

33:27

by O'Brien's best friend who said

33:30

he had once walked into the couple's garden

33:32

shed and had seen a number of pipe bombs

33:34

on the table, which Kenneth had tried to

33:36

conceal. To this, miss Dunn

33:38

responded that she didn't know anything about

33:40

that. Defense counsel

33:42

also asked Emer if she was aware

33:44

that Despite telling the family that he was

33:46

back in Ireland for good, O'Brien

33:49

had told his employer in Australia that

33:51

he would be returning in January. Don

33:53

responded that thou would be typical

33:55

of Kenneth. O'Higen's Oscar,

33:58

quote, might thou tend to suggest

34:00

there are very significant aspects

34:02

of Kenneth that you don't know about. Emer

34:05

replied, quote, probably. Yeah.

34:08

The defense's line of questioning then delved

34:11

further into details of the witness's relationship

34:13

with Kenneth O'Brien. Mister

34:15

O'Higgans asked miss Dunn about

34:17

an affair that O'Brien had had a few years

34:20

before his death. Miss Dunn

34:22

confirmed that she had been aware of the affair,

34:24

and had found out when the woman

34:26

had been with Kenneth when he was involved

34:29

in a car accident. As a result,

34:31

Miss Dunn admitted that she had gotten someone

34:33

to hack into O'Brien's email, and

34:35

it was clear from the messages she uncovered

34:38

that something was going on with this woman.

34:40

EMEA went on to acknowledge that she had

34:42

confronted the woman in question on a number

34:44

of occasions, and she testified

34:47

that this had caused bad blood with

34:49

another man who eventually came to the house

34:51

and confronted Kenneth O'Brien. Mister

34:54

O'Hagan's put it to Immerton that this

34:56

was why mister O'Brien had initially come

34:58

into contact with Wells senior because

35:00

O'Brien was worried about this less than pleasant

35:03

knock at the door. And the deceased

35:05

had believed that Wells senior was an

35:07

IRA man who could offer protection. There

35:10

was another more unusual fact about

35:12

the couple's home life that mister O'Higgens

35:14

brought up in his questioning of Kenneth

35:16

O'Brien's partner next. The barrister

35:19

asked miss Dunn about a voice activated

35:22

recorder that Kenneth had secretly placed

35:24

in their home for the purpose of recording

35:26

her. O'Higgans asked, quote,

35:28

when did it come about that he was taping your

35:30

conversations? Miss Dunn said

35:32

she didn't know, but that she wasn't really

35:34

surprised as Kenneth was into gadget.

35:37

However, she did accept that it wasn't

35:39

a common thing to do. Mister

35:42

O'Higgans also inquired as to whether

35:44

miss Dunn was aware that Kenneth O'Brien had

35:46

been carrying on a relationship with a sick

35:48

woman while living in Australia between

35:50

July twenty thirteen and March

35:52

twenty fourteen. Miss Dunn had

35:55

answered that she, quote, had a feeling

35:57

there was something going on. The

35:59

barrister went on to tell her that the couple

36:01

had moved in to get in November of twenty

36:04

thirteen and had traveled to Bali

36:06

together on holiday in March twenty

36:08

fourteen before breaking up soon afterwards.

36:11

Miss Duncett, Nashwelt senior,

36:13

had informed her about the Bali trip

36:15

when he had called to her house on

36:17

the sixteenth January. When

36:21

the second week of the trial opened on Monday,

36:23

the fifteenth of October, Paul

36:25

Wells senior's younger son Gary

36:28

gave evidence. Recounting the

36:30

day that mister O'Brien was thought to have

36:32

been killed. He said that his father

36:34

had dropped him to work on January

36:36

the fifteenth twenty sixteen and

36:38

had then told him not to come home

36:40

that night. Well senior

36:42

had reiterated this instruction again

36:45

when they arrived at Gary's workplace with

36:47

the accused explaining to Gary that he

36:49

had a friend coming over that evening. Gary

36:52

told the court that during the day, his father

36:54

had also called him to make sure that

36:56

the witness wouldn't be arriving home that

36:58

night. When he finally went

37:00

back home on the morning of the sixteenth of

37:02

January, Gary recalled that his father

37:04

was standing in the garden, power

37:07

hosing the ground. He'd seen

37:09

two bottles of bleach on the decking and

37:11

noted that a layer of carpish was

37:13

missing from the shed floor. The

37:15

day after this, the seventeenth, Gary

37:17

testified that the defendant had given him a

37:19

bag and asked him to drop it to his brother,

37:21

Paul Junior's house. Gary

37:23

formed the view from the shape of the bag that

37:26

there was a chainsaw inside. He

37:28

said his father also gave him a number of

37:30

shopping bags filled with rubbish to dispose

37:32

of. One had a piece of cardboard

37:35

in us with a red stain. In

37:47

course, on October the sixteenth, O'Brien's

37:50

former employer, declan Porter,

37:52

gave evidence. He said that Kenneth

37:55

was a quote exceptional worker

37:57

in every respect. And that he

37:59

kept in touch with him after he went to Australia

38:01

in twenty thirteen. Porter

38:04

says that he had asked the deceased for help

38:06

with a job in Limerick. On the fifteenth

38:08

of January, and O'Brien had agreed

38:10

to go. However, he said he'd

38:12

received a call from mister O'Brien on

38:14

the Thursday evening to say he couldn't come

38:17

as he had to look after some other business.

38:20

That afternoon, evidence was heard regarding

38:22

money that O'Brien had transferred to

38:24

the accused over the eighteen month period

38:27

before his death. Fenton

38:29

Byrne, head of risk and chief

38:31

compliance officer at currency fair,

38:33

told Sean Galán that O'Brien had

38:35

opened an account with them in twenty thirteen,

38:38

and the last login on the account was

38:40

January the twelfth, twenty sixteen. Mister

38:43

Byrne detailed ten transfers from

38:45

that account to a PTSD account

38:48

held by Wells senior between June

38:50

twenty fourteen and November twenty

38:52

fifteen. These transactions amounted

38:55

to a total of forty seven thousand

38:57

nine hundred and twenty five euro. O'Brien

39:00

had also transferred money to his own

39:02

account his partner's account and accounts

39:04

belonging to a number of other family members.

39:07

The total amount transferred through

39:09

O'Brien's currency fair account was around

39:11

ninety thousand and euros. Next,

39:14

Yvonne Rea of PTSD's crime

39:17

and loss prevention unit told the

39:19

jury dash five thousand euro

39:21

had been transferred directly from O'Brien's

39:23

PTSD account to Wells senior's

39:26

PTSD account in February

39:28

of twenty fifteen. She also

39:30

detailed how Wells had made number of

39:32

five thousand euro withdrawals in

39:34

branch from his own account between December

39:37

twenty fifteen and January twenty

39:39

sixteen, leaving a balance of less

39:41

than three hundred euro on January

39:43

the fifteenth. Twenty sixteen. Over

39:46

the course of the remainder of that week,

39:48

jurors heard the memos of Wells'

39:51

first two interviews with Gardein

39:53

where he denied any involvement in O'Brien's

39:55

death and tried to implicate other

39:58

factors in Kenneth's life for his demise.

40:01

They were then shown the video of Wells confession

40:04

where he outlined the murder and dismemberment

40:06

of Kenneth's body in detail to

40:08

Garde. After an

40:11

adjournment for the weekend, on Tuesday,

40:13

October the thirtieth twenty sixteen,

40:15

deputy state pathologist to doctor Michael

40:17

Curtis took to the stand to give evidence

40:20

He had carried out a post mortem on the

40:22

torso that was found on January sixteen,

40:25

twenty sixteen, and then further

40:27

examinations on the nine other body

40:29

parts found more than a week later on

40:31

January the 24th. Doctor

40:34

Curtis said that the head had been

40:36

removed at around the sixth vertebra,

40:38

and that the neck and limbs were,

40:40

quote, neatly sewn across, consistent

40:43

with the use of a power saw. It

40:46

was his assessment that although the

40:48

head and limbs were removed neatly, the

40:50

dismemberment was crude and did

40:52

not display any anatomical knowledge.

40:55

The jury heard how the body parts had been

40:58

wrapped in plastic bags, which were

41:00

banned with cable ties and then placed

41:02

inside two Tesco and two done

41:04

stores bags. These bags

41:06

were then knotted at the handles and weighted

41:08

with bricks. One bag

41:10

contained the arms in four sections

41:13

while two of the bags were found to contain

41:15

the Mens, also in four parts, with

41:17

the fish still attached. The fourth

41:19

bag contained the head. Kenneth

41:22

O'Brien's hands were never recovered.

41:25

Doctor Curtis testified that he had found

41:27

a bullet entrance wound on the back left

41:29

of the skull, tracking directly forwards

41:31

and very slightly downwards. The

41:34

injury was a contact injury

41:36

wound, meaning the muzzle of the weapon

41:38

would have been pressed against the head.

41:41

The skull bones were shattered, and the bullet

41:43

had remained in the head. Doctor

41:45

Curtis said that the catastrophic

41:48

brain injuries as a result of the gunshot

41:50

would have proved instantaneously fatal.

41:54

The following day, detective Garda Cliff

41:56

colon of the cybercrime bureau gave

41:58

evidence relating to a computer seized

42:01

at Wells senior's house following

42:03

his arrest in February of twenty sixteen.

42:06

Detective Collin said that search terms

42:08

had been used on the laptop for the keywords

42:11

Irish Ferry's times from Dublin and

42:13

Irish Ferry's timetable. These

42:15

searches occurred at three forty

42:18

nine PM and 401 PM

42:20

on January the fifteenth twenty six

42:22

teen before the time that the accused

42:25

alleged he had killed O'Brien. Someone

42:28

using the Windows Profile, named

42:30

Paul, also visited the Irish

42:32

Fairey's website at three fifty nine

42:34

PM on the same day. Between

42:37

three fifty nine and 401 PM,

42:39

the same user had looked up various pages

42:41

on the site. Including UK

42:43

to France from Ireland and

42:46

Ross Laire to Sherbourg. Closing

42:49

speeches took place at the end of that

42:51

week on Friday the second of November.

42:54

Sean Gallant summarized the prosecution's

42:56

case saying that the evidence presented

42:59

showed Kenneth O'Brien had been executed

43:01

efficiently in a premeditated murder

43:04

by Well Senior. He'd been shot

43:06

in the back of the head at close Rea, and

43:09

the accused suggestion that it was self

43:11

defense did not make sense. Defense

43:15

Council, Michael O'Higgans, countered

43:17

that the evidence for a premeditated execution

43:20

didn't add up. He said that O'Brien

43:22

was a deeply flawed character who had

43:24

shown a disregard for life. He

43:27

told jurors that they should acquit Wells

43:29

if they concluded that he had acted reasonably

43:31

in self defense. Mister Higgins

43:34

said, quote, however, aspects

43:36

of the case might repulse you. You Rea

43:38

duty bound to give the accused a

43:40

fair trial. There were a

43:42

number of factors that the defense argued

43:44

supported Wells's claim that

43:46

there was a conspiracy to murder Immer

43:49

Dunn. These included the fact that

43:51

the CCTV at O'Brien's home

43:53

had worked until January the fourteenth.

43:56

On January the fifteenth, it wasn't working

43:58

at all. The access code had been

44:00

changed, and O'Brien was the only person

44:03

who could have changed it. Mister Higgins

44:05

asserted that this was no mere coincidence,

44:08

but rather evidence that O'Brien had planned

44:10

something, which he wanted to ensure there

44:12

was no recording of. In

44:15

the same vein, defense canceled pointed

44:17

out that Emmer Dunn's planned birthday

44:19

celebrations on January the fifteenth

44:21

had been canceled because of what the

44:23

defendant had alleged was a lie

44:26

that Kenneth was going to work in Limerick.

44:28

O'Hagan's all so reminded the jury that

44:30

O'Brien, who previously had no keys

44:33

to his own house, had gotten keys

44:35

cut on January the fourteenth. One

44:37

of these was later found by miss Dunn

44:39

on a shelf in the house. Another

44:42

detail that appeared to indicate that the victim

44:44

had intended to, at the very

44:46

least, leave his partner and the country

44:49

was the fact that Kenneth O'Brien's passport

44:51

had gone missing, seemingly supporting

44:54

the story that the defendant well

44:56

senior had told. With

44:58

the closing arguments completed, mister

45:00

Justice McDermott delivered his charge

45:02

to the jury. Giving them three

45:04

verdict options, guilty of murder,

45:06

guilty of manslaughter, or an outright

45:09

acquittal. He told them that they must

45:11

reach a unanimous verdict adding,

45:13

quote, the horror that might have been

45:15

felt at what happened shouldn't necessarily

45:18

determine the guilt or innocence of

45:20

mister Wells. And

45:22

so on Tuesday, November the sixth.

45:24

After just five hours of deliberations, the

45:27

jury returned with a unanimous verdict.

45:30

Finding well senior guilty of the

45:32

murder of Kenneth O'Brien. He

45:34

showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered,

45:37

and he was sentenced to life in prison.

45:40

In his victim impact statement, Kenneth's

45:42

father, Jerry O'Brien, told how

45:45

the can that had emerged during the trial

45:47

was not the can that they knew and loved.

45:49

His murder and the subsequent desecration

45:52

of his body was barbaric, and

45:54

he continued, quote, and affront

45:56

to all who knew him. Family

45:58

members wept as Jerry declared that

46:00

there were no words to describe the trauma

46:03

and desolation they had felt since

46:05

Ken's murder. Mister O'Brien

46:07

said that Kenneth was a lovely child

46:09

to rear and a hard worker from the age

46:11

of fifteen. He'd found it

46:13

difficult to express himself, but the family

46:16

always knew what Ken meant. It

46:18

was hard to sum up his life in a couple

46:20

of pages, Jerry said. Concluding

46:22

his statement, mister O'Brien told

46:25

the court that there was a cold place in his

46:27

heart, and that cold place would

46:29

be with him forever more. A

46:32

second victim impact statement written

46:34

by Immer Dunn was read to the court by

46:36

Garda Anja O'Sullivan of the National

46:38

Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Miss

46:41

Dunn said that she could not put into words

46:43

the feeling she had experienced after finding

46:45

out that Kenneth was murdered in the most gruesome

46:48

of ways. Quote, no mother

46:50

should have to do what I had to do in telling

46:52

our mutual boy that his idol, his

46:54

father, was never coming home. She

46:57

said she would do everything in her power to make

46:59

sure that Kenneth's memory was kept alive

47:01

and that their son would remember all the

47:03

good things about his dad. As

47:06

he was led out of the courtroom, Wells

47:08

senior looked directly at miss Dunn

47:11

and said, I'm sorry. But

47:14

the conclusion of Paul Well senior's trial

47:16

was not the end of legal proceedings in

47:18

relation to the death of Kenneth O'Brien. In

47:21

November of twenty nineteen, Paul

47:23

Wells junior went on trial in

47:25

the Central Criminal Court charged with

47:27

impeding the apprehension or prosecution

47:30

of his father. Wells

47:32

junior, who at the time, had an address

47:34

in Selbridge, can't he kill air, pleaded

47:36

not guilty to disposing of a chainsaw

47:38

motor, blade, and chain over

47:41

the course of two days in January of twenty

47:43

sixteen. The prosecution's

47:45

case was that Wells junior had disposed

47:47

of the tools knowing that his father had taken

47:50

a lot wife. Wells junior denied

47:52

this, insisting that at the time

47:54

he'd had no idea the chainsaw had been

47:56

used to dismember Kenneth O'Brien.

47:59

The trial heard how Well's Junior had

48:01

endured a life of hardship under his

48:03

father, who was described as a very violent

48:06

man. Evidence was offered

48:08

indicating that Wells junior had suffered

48:10

regular physical abuse at the hands of his

48:12

father from a young age. And that the family

48:15

environment was volatile and

48:17

characterized by an extremely toxic

48:19

dynamic with well senior being

48:21

the driving force. Will's

48:24

junior's younger brother, Jerry, testified

48:26

that their father had tried to persuade the

48:28

defendant to join the IRA and

48:30

carry explosives in the past. And

48:32

it also emerged that Wells senior also

48:35

made threats from prison on Wells junior's

48:38

life, saying if he didn't put

48:40

a bullet in his own son, then the IRA

48:42

would. The court also

48:44

heard from Garda witnesses who gave

48:46

evidence that Wells junior had received

48:48

eleven thousand euros in the aftermath

48:50

of the chain saw disposal, but Wells

48:52

denied that this was payment for helping

48:55

his father conceal the brutal and bloody

48:57

murder. Instead, he claimed the

48:59

money was to be used to look after his

49:01

mother. The three week

49:03

trial featured many of the same witnesses

49:05

who testified during the murder trial

49:07

of Paul Wells senior and Once again,

49:10

Kenneth O'Brien's family had to recount

49:12

and listen to the harrowing details

49:14

of Kenneth's murder. When the hearing

49:16

of evidence in the trial concluded, the jury

49:18

deliberations began. They spent

49:21

just under four hours behind closed

49:23

doors before returning with unanimous

49:25

guilty verdicts on both counts. Paul

49:28

Wells junior appeared at a sentencing

49:30

hearing in February of twenty twenty.

49:33

Their Wells junior's sister, Amy,

49:35

spoke on his behalf. And on behalf

49:38

of their wider family. Amy

49:40

apologized to the O'Brien and

49:42

Dunn families for the distress caused

49:44

to them by Wells junior not coming

49:46

forward sooner. However, Kenneth

49:48

O'Brien's father told the court that Wells

49:51

junior's inaction in coming forward

49:53

had resulted in the atrocious circumstances

49:56

that Wells senior was free to attend

49:58

Kenneth's funeral. Mister O'Brien

50:01

told the judge, quote, there are no words

50:03

describe how we feel about this. Wells

50:06

junior's defense barrester, Damian

50:08

Colgan, Senior Counsel, asked the

50:10

trial judge, miss justice colonel Stewart,

50:13

for a suspended sentence and said

50:15

that a term of imprisonment should be a

50:17

last resort. He cited his

50:19

client's lack of previous convictions wells

50:21

junior's exposure to violence from an

50:24

early age and his willingness to help

50:26

Gardy with their investigation. But

50:29

despite these mitigating factors, on

50:31

February the seventeenth twenty twenty,

50:33

Wells junior was sentenced to three

50:35

years in prison. With the last eighteen

50:37

months suspended. Miss

50:40

justice Stewart commented that she had

50:42

given serious consideration to

50:44

handing down a fully suspended sentence

50:46

but she did not think it would reflect the

50:48

gravity of the offense. In

50:51

a case filled with twists and

50:53

turns, Questions remain to this day

50:55

about the true motive for the murder of Kenneth

50:57

O'Brien. However, regardless

50:59

of the true reason behind the killing, jurors

51:02

were still left with victim who was shot

51:04

in the back of the head at point blank

51:06

Rea, and that they determined

51:09

was enough to satisfy the criteria

51:11

for murder. Thank

51:15

you for listening to Mens, a true

51:17

crime podcast. You can find us on Facebook

51:19

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51:22

pod or you can send an email

51:24

to men's wear a pod at gmail dot com.

51:26

This podcast has made possible in part

51:28

from generous donations by supporters on

51:30

Patreon. Special thanks this week

51:33

to Aaron, Ronamec Donald and Lisa

51:35

Zia. Please do check it out at

51:37

patreon dot comm forward slash Mens

51:39

Rea. Our theme music is

51:41

Quinn song, The Dance begins by Kevin

51:43

McCloud. Additional music is by Waneta

51:46

Maisel and Kevin McCloud. This

51:48

week's episode was researched and written

51:50

by the amazing Aileen Spiren. Additional

51:53

writing and production was by me,

51:55

your host, Shenate. All sources

51:57

for today's episode can be found in the show notes

52:00

or on our website, WWW

52:02

dot mensrayapod dot com.

52:05

And so till next time.

52:08

Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Similarly,

52:25

similar, similarly, Similarly,

52:29

similarly, similarly, similarly,

52:33

similarly, fundamentally,

52:35

defense cancel Similarly, defense

52:38

counsel in the same

52:40

vein