IRA accused sent text to victim's wife's phone minutes before he was shot dead, trial hears

A trial at the Special Criminal Court has heard that a text message was sent to the wife of murder victim Peter Butterly minutes before he was shot dead in March 2013. Laurence Murphy, aged 62, of Bettystown, County Meath, and Ray Kennedy, aged 39, of Blanchardstown, Dublin, have pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the IRA on the date in question. Detective Garda evidence indicated that a message was transmitted from a phone linked to Mr Kennedy to the victim's wife at 1.43pm on March 6th, 2013, approximately seventeen minutes before Mr Butterly, a 35-year-old father of two, was fatally shot in the carpark of the Huntsman Inn at Gormanston, County Meath. Mr Kennedy faces an additional charge of perverting the course of justice by destroying a mobile telephone SIM card. Four men have previously received life sentences following conviction for the murder. The trial continues before Ms Justice Tara Burns and two other judges.