Murder trial hears family of alleged murder victim contacted gardaí when they found buried fabric

RELATIVES SEARCHING FOR a man in Limerick came upon freshly dug grass, poked around in it with a stick and spotted the fabric of a blue tracksuit similar to the one worn by their missing loved one, a murder trial has heard.

Kurt Ryan (33) from Moylish Crescent in Limerick is charged with the murder of Lee Slattery at Delmege Estate, Knockalisheen Road in Limerick on a date unknown between 27 May to 31 May 2010.

Prosecution Senior Counsel, Michael O’Higgins, gave the jury a “roadmap” of the anticipated evidence in the case today at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork.

He said that Delmege Estate was the site of a large old house from the 19th century which stood on 80 acres. By 2010 it was in a state of dereliction.

“It is not too difficult to imagine what it must have looked like in its heyday, or what it would have looked like in the small hours of the morning on the night of the murder,” he said. 

Relatives of Slattery had gone out looking for him at Delmege Estate on 31 May, 2010 . The 25-year-old had failed to return home four days earlier. The court heard they had become increasingly concerned for his safety as it was unusual for him not to come home.

They raised the alarm when they spotted the tracksuit fabric in the ground.

O’Higgins said that Slattery was shot twice at close range in a very overgrown area close to Delmege House. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to his trunk and injuries to his heart and lungs.

O’Higgins said Slattery had also sustained blunt force trauma to his face, a fracture to his facial bones and teeth and injuries to his skull.

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“Mercifully, it would appear those blows may well have been administered after he was shot,” he added.

O’Higgins said gardaí carried out a search of the area and the outhouses on the derelict Delmege Estate.

They found a pistol in a sock which had been concealed under a brick in one of the old outhouses. He added that this was the weapon used to kill Slattery.

The jurors heard that Slattery lived “a stone’s throw” away from the accused in the case.

O’Higgins said that the late Lee Slattery was “well liked” and “a bit of a character”. The native of Moyross sold drugs to support his drug habit whilst Ryan, who was then 17, was also dealing drugs in the area.

He said that jury would hear evidence relating to the last known movements of Slattery on 27 May, 2010. O’Higgins indicated that this would give the jury “a flavour of who he was and his routine.”

The last sighting of Slattery was at around 2.20am on Friday 28 May, 2010. He was captured on CCTV walking near Delmege Estate.

O’Higgins said that Ryan called to Slattery’s home in the days after he failed to return. Ryan said that Slattery owed him €80 for drugs and that he was a bit concerned not to see him around.

O’Higgins said that when Ryan was subsequently interviewed by gardaí he denied having any involvement in the murder.

The case will continue tomorrow in front of the jury and Ms Justice Eileen Creedon. It is expected to last in the region of a month.