Jury in trial of man accused of phoning in bomb threat from Portlaoise prison to continue deliberations tomorrow

The jury in the trial of a man accused of phoning in a bomb threat from Portlaoise prison to the home of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee are to continue their deliberations on Friday. 

Michael Murray (52), formerly of Seafield Road, Killiney, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to one count of knowingly making a false report giving rise to an apprehension for the safety of someone else while he was imprisoned in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise on March 7, 2021

The eight-day trial heard that an anonymous caller rang the Samaritans claiming to be from the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and said explosives had been planted at the home of the Minister of Justice Helen McEntee.

Giving evidence himself, Mr Murray said the allegation was “ludicrous” and “does not make sense.” He admitted to making a phone call to the Samaritans on the night, but said it “had absolutely nothing to do with the Justice Minister Helen McEntee.”
 Earlier today in his closing speech on behalf of the prosecution, senior counsel Sean Gillane SC said: “Only one person could possibly have made that call and that person is the accused Mr Murray.”

“There is a lot of smoke and a lot of sound and a lot of material that has nothing to do with the essence of the case,” he said.

Mr Gillane said it was “crystal clear” that a call had been made to the Samaritans making the bomb threat.
 He also said it was “for certain” that the call came from the Midlands Prison and that the “absolutely sound evidence” was that the call was made on the extension in Mr Murray's cell, using his identification number, while he was alone inside.

Mr Gillane asked the jury to consider whether it was a “coincidence” that the caller picked a paramilitary organization that Mr Murray “openly acknowledges being aligned with in the past.”

He also asked whether “maybe it's just another layer of coincidence” that Mr Murray admitted to having a “gripe” with Ms McEntee and was aware of “credible” threats to have explosives planted at her home.

“That's lottery winning odds if it's all it was,” he said, “Your toleration of coincidence would be sorely tested.”

“Riddle me on this,” said Mr Gillane, “On top of all of that the person making the call saying this has got to do with a court case tomorrow and Mr Murray just happens to have a court case the following day.”
 Mr Gillane said “the only logical conclusion” is that “they're simply not coincidences.”

He asked the jury “to put to one side these red herrings,” and said Mr Murray had made admissions to the call when speaking to gardai in an unrecorded interview.
 
In his closing speech, Garret Baker SC, defending, told the jury the evidence in the case was “a million miles from where you need it to be.”

“If you start convicting people because you're speculating about material or theorizing,” he said, “you're skewing and corrupting the trial process.”

“Mr Murray is not Mother Theresa and he's not claiming to be that,” said Mr Baker, before adding that his client wanted “a fair roll of the dice” and for the jury “to make an honest appraisal.”

“Honestly when you look at the evidence as a whole in this case there are aspects that are concerning,” he said to the jury.

He said gardai reported the caller had a “strong Dublin accent” and had spoken slowly in the call. Mr Baker told the jury they had heard Mr Murray's voice and that he didn't have that accent, nor did he speak slowly.

Mr Baker also asked the jury to consider that there is a "variation" between the time that call to the Samaritans is recorded in the logs of the service provider and prison service.

This variation was 18 seconds long, which “in the context of this case is a lifetime,” he said.
Mr Baker said there were “important holes, gaps, deficiencies in the prosecution case.” He asked the jury whether it made sense for Mr Murray to make threats from his cell when he'd asked for it to be monitored in the past.

“There's been a lot of talk about safeguarding of the State,” he said, “but there's another thing that needs to be safeguarded and that's the integrity of the criminal justice process.”

The jury were sent home this evening after two hours and 32 minutes of deliberation. They were told to return tomorrow when they will continue to consider the verdict.