A key witness in a law professor’s murder trial who had agreed to return to Ireland to give evidence had “a change of heart” and “legged it” whilst gardaí stopped to get refreshments en route to a Spanish airport, a jury has heard.
Defence counsel Michael Bowman SC told the trial of leading barrister Diarmuid Phelan that 23-year-old Kallum Coleman had booked himself a one-way ticket to Spain and was “holing” up in a hotel when a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
The jury also heard that when Mr Phelan gave evidence in a 2017 case of trespassing and damage on his lands, people had made threats to kill him in the courtroom.
Mr Phelan, 56, has pleaded not guilty to murdering father-of-four Keith Conlon, 36, at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on 24 February 2022.
The accused man is a barrister, law lecturer and farmer who owns Hazelgrove, formerly a golf course in Tallaght.
Under cross-examination, Mr Bowman put it to Detective Sergeant Michael McGrath it was intended that Mr Coleman would be a prosecution witness in the case but “events overtook” matters.
The court has heard that Mr Conlon and two other men – Mr Coleman and Robin Duggan – were trespassers on Mr Phelan’s land that day, when they were involved in “fox bolting”. Mr Coleman’s dog was shot by the accused with a Winchester rifle while it was tied by a leash to a tree.
Mr Bowman told the jury it was intended that Mr Coleman would be called to give evidence in the trial on Wednesday 30 October.
He said Mr Coleman was aware he was to attend at the Criminal Courts of Justice Building on that day to testify in the case but that “the 30th came and went and it transpired that Mr Coleman was not available to the prosecution”.
Counsel said there were a “couple of down days” in the case and it transpired that Mr Coleman had booked himself on a one way ticket to Spain on Monday 28 October.
The lawyer said searches were made for Mr Coleman at his family address and other acquaintances addresses but they proved fruitless. Mr Bowman said gardaí had identified through Mr Coleman’s passport that he had arrived in Spain.
The detective agreed that on 4 and 5 November gardaí were in possession of information as to where Mr Coleman might be located in Spain.
Det Sgt McGrath also agreed that he and his colleague flew to Marbella in Spain on Tuesday 5 November and identified the hotel where Mr Coleman was “holing up”.
The witness said he told Mr Coleman that because of his witness summons he had to come to court and give evidence in the trial.
Mr Bowman said Mr Coleman was informed that the Central Criminal Court had issued a bench warrant for him and had the power to compel him to attend.
“All of this was known to Mr Coleman?” asked the lawyer. “Yes, I explained that to him,” replied the detective.
Mr Bowman said a High Court arrest warrant had been issued by trial judge Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford on 30 October. The witness said he had explained the consequences of that to Mr Coleman.
Mr Bowman said that Mr Coleman had agreed to accompany Det Sgt McGrath and his colleague to the airport and to fly back to Dublin on Tuesday 5 November.
“Yes, we explained he would be brought to court the next day,” said the detective.
Counsel said “everyone had assembled”, they had left the hotel and were making their way to the airport. The detective said he and his colleague were trying to book a flight on the way to the airport.
“Word trickled back that Mr Coleman would be available to us on Wednesday [6 November]; that was the hope?” suggested Mr Bowman.
The detective confirmed that Mr Coleman had told them that he wanted to come back to Ireland to deal with the arrest warrant.
Mr Bowman put it to the witness that Mr Coleman “wasn’t a man of his word in that regard”. The detective said Mr Coleman had “a change of heart”.
Det Sgt McGrath said as they were driving to the airport they had stopped to get refreshments and were in the process of trying to book flights when Mr Coleman exited the car and ran.
Mr Bowman said Mr Coleman had made it clear that if he came back to Ireland he wouldn’t be cooperating with the courts “in any way” and decided he was “going to leg it”. The detective said Mr Coleman had got out of the car and ran.
“Under the pretext of needing a comfort break?” asked counsel. The detective said they had stopped the car themselves and not Mr Coleman.
“And he took the opportunity to run away?” asked Mr Bowman, which the witness confirmed.
Threats
Earlier, Det Sgt McGrath agreed with Mr Bowman that his client was a lecturer in law in Trinity College and that gardai had previously accessed his biography on the internet, where it was clear that the accused’s speciality was in European Law.
This morning, the court heard that Mr Phelan had told detectives in a prepared statement in October 2022 that there had been attempted burglary at his farm, that his sheds had been used as “drug dens”, that there had been masked and armed men near his farmhouse at night and that buildings had been burnt down.
He also said that threats were made “within the courtroom” to kill and injure him.
The detective agreed with Mr Bowman that Mr Phelan had said in his interviews with gardaí that the three trespassers on his farm that day had been familiar with the area and his land.
“That’s what he believed,” said the witness.
Mr Bowman said 39 incidents had been recorded prior to the fatal shooting where formal complaints were made by the accused and gardaí were notified about difficulties on the farm. Counsel said gardaí had attended at the farm between 20 and 30 times.
In the one case that was prosecuted, for trespassing and damage, people had made threats to kill Mr Phelan in the courtroom, the court heard.
Mr Bowman said the accused had gone to Tallaght Courthouse to give evidence in the case in March 2017 and when he was in court people had threatened to kill him.
“One made a gun gesture, the other slit his throat and the other punched, they were practically clambering over one another to get threats to Mr Phelan,” said counsel.
The barrister said the accused had also spoken to gardaí in his interviews about men breaking onto his property with iron bars in the past and crawling around his farm at night disabling the CCTV.
In her opening address Roisin Lacey SC, prosecuting, said the jury will hear evidence that on the day in question three men including Mr Conlon had trespassed on a wooded area of Mr Phelan’s land while hunting foxes or badgers.
Ms Lacey said that Mr Phelan told gardaí he became concerned about a dog running loose on his land towards his sheep and shot it with his Winchester rifle, whereupon he said three men immediately “exploded” from the wooded area and began threatening him.
The 12 jurors were also told by the State that Mr Phelan said he was shaking with fear and “scrambled” up a bank to get away but when Mr Conlon and a second man kept coming he believed they were “coming to fulfil the threats they had made”.
As they got closer, Mr Phelan said he reached for his Smith & Wesson revolver in his pocket and fired in the air over their heads but was “stunned when one man went down”, the court has heard.
In her opening speech, Ms Lacey said she expects the defence case to be that the accused was entitled to discharge the firearm in a legitimate act of self defence.
They will say that it was not done with the intention of causing the bullet to penetrate Mr Conlon’s body and that the penetration was an accidental, unintended result, she stated.
The State’s case, Ms Lacey highlighted, is that when the third shot was fired, the gun was pointed in the direction of the deceased who was shot in the back of the head when he had turned away to leave. “In those circumstances we say the accused intended to kill or cause serious injury,” counsel said.
Mr Conlon, from Kiltalown Park in Tallaght, was seriously injured in the shooting incident on 22 February and died at Tallaght University Hospital two days later.
The trial continues tomorrow before Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford and a jury of nine men and three women.
