A court in Dublin has been shown CCTV footage of the moment a man was fatally shot by assault rifle-wielding hitmen at a boxing weigh-in event.
Gerry Hutch, 59, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of David Byrne, 34, at the Regency Hotel in the city on 5 February 2016.
A team of five gunmen, including three dressed as a police tactical team and carrying AK47-type weapons, attacked the weigh-in as part of Ireland’s Hutch-Kinahan gang feud that, to date, has claimed 18 lives.
Today, the non-jury Special Criminal Court was shown video evidence from the hotel’s security cameras.
In the footage, as panicked attendees flee the hotel, David Byrne can be seen being shot by the first police imposter, described by the prosecution as “Tactical One”, before being shot again by “Tactical Two”.
He collapses at the foot of the reception desk, the lower half of his body, clad in grey tracksuit bottoms and white trainers, visible in the frame.
The footage then showed Tactical Two jumping on to the reception desk to investigate another man taking shelter, before turning and discharging at least one more shot into the prone body of David Byrne.
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Cartridges are seen being ejected from the assault rifles, and blood spots are visible on the floor.
Minutes earlier, two other gunmen, one wearing a wig and disguised as a woman, were captured on camera walking arm-in-arm through the hotel. They opened fire with handguns, sparking the exodus towards the main hotel entrance where the three “police” gunmen entered and started shooting.
The five-person team then fled to a waiting silver Ford Transit van and was driven away by a sixth accomplice.
The CCTV footage has not been released to the media.
‘Catastrophic gunshot injuries to the head’
A post-mortem showed that David Byrne died from six gunshot wounds sustained from a high-velocity weapon.
Giving evidence via video link today, the former Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis told the court that when he inspected Mr Byrne’s remains at the crime scene, the body displayed evidence of “catastrophic gunshot injuries to either side of the head.”
Dr Curtis said the deceased was shot over the right eyebrow and again on the right side of his face. Another bullet entered David Byrne’s abdomen through the waistband of his underpants. Another round went through his right hand, while a fifth bullet went through both of Mr Byrne’s thighs. There was also another gunshot wound to his right thigh.
A deformed bullet was found loose in the victims’ clothing, having exited the body. Two teeth from an artificial dental plate were found in the hood of his coat.
“This man died as a result of six gunshot wounds from a high-velocity weapon,” Dr Curtis said. “The injuries sustained would have proved rapidly if not instantaneously fatal.”
‘Get the f*** out of here’
Earlier the trial heard from eyewitnesses present during the attack at the hotel.
Press photographer Colin O’Riordan told the court how, after hearing at least a dozen gunshots, he had come face to face with the purported police officers as they exited the hotel.
“I stood back as I was in fear of my life”, he said. “I tried to make myself as unthreatening as I could. I put my hands up, and I said ‘Guard, I don’t know where I should be’, taking a step back.”
The gunmen walked past him, holding their assault rifles across their bodies, he said.
Mr O’Riordan told the court that journalist Robin Schiller had earlier told him that he had seen Daniel Kinahan at the hotel before the shooting began.
The photographer then testified that he heard one of the gang say “he wasn’t there, I couldn’t find him”, while another said “get the f*** out of here” before they got back into the silver van and escaped.
“There was a lot of shouting and screaming,” Mr O’Riordan said.
‘Masked Gardai’ rushed towards the hotel bar
The director of the Regency Hotel in 2016, James McGettigan, gave evidence that the doors to the bar area opened suddenly, and “masked Gardai” rushed in towards the bar in a “very aggressive” way.
One shouted for everyone to lie on the ground, which those present immediately did.
“They shouted that they were looking for boxers, and where were they,” said Mr McGettigan. He remained standing in front of one of the gunmen in police gear, and said he could see his eyes, and suspected he wasn’t a real police officer due to his young age and slight build.
Mr McGettigan later locked himself into a different room and attempted to call 999, although he said it took three attempts to contact the police.
Gerry Hutch was extradited from Spain to Ireland in August 2021 to stand trial for murder. Two other men, 59-year-old Paul Murphy and 50-year-old Jason Bonney are also charged with helping with the commission of the murder by providing vehicles.
The trial of the three men is expected to last at least 12 weeks.
