Garda tells murder trial how flesh was ripped from 76-year-old's forearm

Eoin Reynolds

The flesh of Michael Scott's 76-year-old aunt was completely ripped from one of her forearms and lay strewn in the yard in front of her home, the first garda who arrived at the scene has told his murder trial.

Sergeant Gerard Cleary also told the court that Mr Scott "didn't appear to be showing much emotion" when officers arrived at the farm where Mr Scott says he had accidentally run over his aunt in an agricultural teleporter.

Sgt Gerard Cleary told the court that he noticed what he believed to be marks where a wheel from the teleporter was "spun" and had removed the flesh from Ms Treacy's left arm.

The sergeant said he asked Mr Scott to account for this but Mr Scott said he could not.

When Sgt Cleary asked why Mr Scott did not call emergency services, Sgt Cleary said the accused told him that he did not know the number and did not know he could dial 999.

It is the prosecution case that Michael Scott deliberately ran over Ms Treacy following a long-running dispute over land.

Mr Scott (58) of Gortanumera, Portumna, Co Galway has pleaded not guilty to her murder on April 27th, 2018 outside her home in Derryhiney, Portumna. The defence says that Ms Treacy's death was a tragic accident.

Showing emotion

Sgt Cleary on Thursday told prosecution counsel Dean Kelly SC that he and his colleague Det Gda William O'Gorman were the first gardaí at the scene. When they arrived Sgt Cleary saw Mr Scott on his hunkers, but the garda said he "didn't appear to be showing much emotion".

When Sgt Cleary looked at Ms Treacy's body he noticed the marks of what appeared to be a wheel of the loader going up along the back of her right leg, across her back and over her left shoulder. He didn't know which direction the tyre had travelled.

There were, he said, rubber marks around her and the flesh was "ripped completely from her left forearm and strewn onto the yard in front of her hand." She was lying face down with her arms outstretched on either side of her head.

He said it "appeared to me a wheel was spun on the arm" and he also observed flesh on the back left wheel of the teleporter.

Det Sgt Cleary read from notes taken by Det Gda O'Gorman of the conversation with Mr Scott at the scene.

Sgt Cleary said he asked Mr Scott to account for the rubber marks on the ground that he said suggested "wheels spinning".

Mr Scott told gardai that the loader had been parked facing into a blue shed at the yard.

He said he reversed out and was planning to remove the shear grabs from the front and put on pallet forks that were nearby.

When he felt the "tip" he thought he had hit a trailer and got out to check for damage.

He said he saw Ms Treacy and shouted: "Are you alright?". She was moving, he said. Mr Scott told gardaí he "nearly passed out", know what to do and then phoned his friend and neighbour Francis Hardiman.

Farm lease

Gda Cleary asked why he felt the need to stop the machine when he was going to be stopping anyway a few seconds later when he got to where the pallet forks were.

Sgt Cleary added: "With no disrespect the loader is not exactly new, there is lots of damage and broken glass on it." Mr Scott told him that he "stopped to check" and that the loader was "not in that bad condition" and the glass had only been broken recently.

Sgt Cleary asked: "Did you not see her in the teleporter."

Mr Scott replied: "No, the windows are dirty."

Mr Scott said he had not met Ms Treacy that day and had last spoken to her by phone the previous evening about the lease on the farm. When asked if the lease on the farm had expired, he said, "a few months".

Det Gda O'Goman told Mr Kelly that the first thing he noted Mr Scott saying after being asked to explain what happened was: "I don’t know where I am at all. She was out today, any other day."

Det Sgt Paul Duane told Mr Kelly that he also noted the track marks on Ms Treacy's body.

When he looked at the back left tyre of the teleporter, he said he noticed "some matter which I believed to be flesh on the bottom of the tyre." The jury was shown a photograph of the teleporter tyre that was taken at the scene.

The trial continues in front of Ms Justice Caroline Biggs and a jury of seven men and eight women.