Jury In Kildare Murder Trial Hears Evidence Of Discovery Of Remains In Rahin Wood.

Wednesday, 3 November 2021 at 10:46

Stephen Penrose, of Newtown Court, Malahide Road, Coolock, Dublin 17, is accused of stabbing Philip Finnegan to death on August 10th 2016.

The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering his friend has heard evidence of the discovery of human remains in a shallow grave in Co Kildare.

Stephen Penrose, of Newtown Court, Malahide Road, Coolock, Dublin 17, is accused of stabbing Philip Finnegan to death on August 10th 2016.

Philip Finnegan’s remains were found by a dogwalker at Rahin Woods, Co Kildare on September 2nd 2016.

Inspector Aidan Hannon told the jury the remains were almost skeletal but he suspected they belonged to Philip after he spotted a stab vest in the shallow grave.

Philip’s mother, Angela, told gardaí he was wearing a protective vest when she last saw him three weeks beforehand.

The jurors heard a garden fork, bucket and shovel were found during follow-up searches, as well as a knife, a badly damaged phone, a glove and a funnel.

Some of the items, including the knife, had been buried and were found with the assistance of a metal detector.

Stephen Penrose denies murdering his friend.

The trial is going ahead without him after he decided not to attend. He wasn’t represented in court again today after dismissing a second legal team.

Our Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney, has been covering the trial.

He joined Clem Ryan on Wednesday's edition of Kildare Today.