Gerry Hutch has been found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne.
The prosecution had claimed that he was one of two gunmen who shot the Kinahan associate at a boxing event at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in February 2016.
As expected, the case against Gerry Hutch boiled down to whether the judges believed the testimony of State-turned witness Jonathan Dowdall.
Because he was an accomplice and a potential entrant into the Witness Protection Programme, the court had to approach his evidence with extreme caution.
Dowdall claimed that Gerry Hutch confessed to the murder at an alleged meeting between the two of them at a park in Dublin just a few days after the shooting.
Having identified “serious difficulties” in his evidence, the court was not prepared to rely on his evidence in isolation, and there was nothing in the case to support it.
In relation to a recorded conversation between them, the court was of the opinion that there may have been a possible inference that Mr Hutch “gave the go-ahead” but that wasn’t the case run by the prosecution. They claimed he was one of the hitmen, but that case was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt and Mr Hutch was acquitted. The judge directed his immediate release.
Two others were convicted for their roles in helping with the getaway.
🚨 VERDICT 🚨
Gerry Hutch has been found NOT GUILTY of murder.— Frank Greaney (@FrankGreaney) April 17, 2023
Reporting by Frank Greaney
