Alleged getaway driver decided at every turn to assist 'violent thug', jury told

Alison O'Riordan

A HSE addiction counsellor was not an "innocent abroad" and, despite having "continuous choices", decided at every turn to assist "violent and abusive thug" Brian McHugh, whom she knew to have murdered a mother-of-two, a prosecution barrister has told a jury.

However, the defence told the jury that the prosecution had failed to prove Deirdre Arnold (42) knew McHugh had committed a murder when she drove him away from the scene. They submitted that while the mother-of-three may have been the getaway driver, it was McHugh that was "really in the driving seat".

Counsel said that Ms Arnold was "full of fear" that she could have been strangled herself and reminded the jury that, even if they are satisfied she assisted the murderer, for a conviction they had to find it was without reasonable excuse.

It is the prosecution case that the accused Ms Arnold drove murderer Mr McHugh to Lisa Thompson's home at Sandyhill Gardens in Ballymun on May 9th, 2022, where she waited outside before driving him away from the scene and later checking him into a hotel in an effort to help him evade prosecution.

In her closing speech, Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, said it is not really clear what case is being advanced by the accused, who had suggested to witness Garda Jennifer Keegan – two or three days after Ms Thompson's murder – that she was in the Sandyhill Gardens area for an entirely innocent reason; namely that she understood McHugh was collecting bags from his aunt.

Counsel added: "She says she is an innocent abroad, he had been tormenting her and she knew she had to go".

There was no doubt, Ms Murphy said, that McHugh is a thug and a murderer as well as being violent and abusive to women. She suggested the only evidence in the case of anything coercive on the night was when the accused alleged McHugh had slapped her on the face when he got back into the car after the murder took place.

"The slap is not true, even if it was, is it reasonable to assist him given the numerous opportunities she has over the next 24 hours to walk away from him?" she asked the jury.

Ms Murphy suggested that the accused had dropped McHugh to the deceased's home at 1.30am on May 9 in a "somewhat surreptitious manner" by letting him out of the car around the back of Sandyhill Gardens, which was deserted due to the late hour. "She doesn't drive where he has access to the front door, she doesn't park in the area".

The lawyer told the jury they needed to assess the accused's mental state at the point when McHugh came out of Ms Thompson's house, placed three bags in the back and got into her car.

Counsel said the accused was also sitting next to McHugh when he 'rifled' through Ms Thompson's red wallet and disposed of items linked to the deceased. She said the accused had facilitated "getting him off-side" and the only inference to draw was that Ms Arnold knew what was going on.

The barrister said the presence of Ms Arnold's fingerprints on a jewellery valuation certificate linked to Ms Thompson and found in the accused's vehicle showed the defendant had a "hand, act or part" in going through items in the car and proved she was involved in attempting to pervert the course of justice.

She said Ms Arnold had also "levered her knowledge" about Ms Thompson as a form of control over McHugh.The jury has heard that text messages sent to McHugh's phone from a number linked to the accused over a month after Ms Thompson was found dead included "U murder I'm goin the cops I swear ringing them now" and "I want my wallet or I'll tell all" [sic].

Ms Murphy told the jury they needed to be satisfied that the accused was assisting McHugh in circumstances where she knew he had committed a murder or a similar offence involving violence. "I'm suggesting not only is it a reasonable inference to draw that she knew, it's an inevitable conclusion".

The lawyer said there was a footprint in the deceased's blood in the hall of her home. She said McHugh was wearing different runners in CCTV footage recorded at an Applegreen service station in Swords after the murder than those he had worn earlier. "There is no two ways about it, the only place he could have changed them is in the car with Ms Arnold".

She asked the jury to look at the text sent by the accused to McHugh in June, where she said "I could of been like Lisa today strangle n stab". She said the accused knew Ms Thompson had been strangled when the public hadn't.

She also referred to the text "Ur runners n the knife" sent by Ms Arnold to McHugh. She said a reasonable inference to draw was that the accused had been with McHugh when his runners were disposed of.

In summary, Ms Murphy said Ms Arnold collected McHugh after the murder and from that point on the evidence clearly showed the accused was on notice at the very least that a violent offence had occurred. She asked the jury to return guilty verdicts on both counts.

Defence counsel Patrick Gageby SC said in his closing address that the prosecution had gone for the "nuclear option" in arguing that the accused knew McHugh had murdered someone or seriously injured them in some way, which he submitted "hung" on a suggestion from the prosecution that McHugh had changed his shoes in the accused's car.

Mr Gageby argued that the inference Ms Arnold knew she had just given a lift to a murderer or someone who had just committed some serious offence was not necessarily open on the evidence.

"If you decide she knew this was murder and if you find she made a conscious decision to please or satisfy him, you might then ask why would she assist him?" he asked. Mr Gageby said he was speaking about the circumstantial evidence of the relationship between McHugh and the accused and the long history of a protection order.

Mr Gageby asked what kind of man would send Ms Arnold into a garda station with a recording device to withdraw a statement made against him. He submitted it was a controlling one, who someone wouldn't want to cross. "Look at what he did to Ms Thompson... look at the texts sent by Ms Arnold; she is full of fear she could have been murdered or strangled...he had broken her arm, placed it on the stairs and stamped on it". He submitted this was the context for "the eruption" of the text messages from the accused on June 18 and 19.

He added: "Deirdre Arnold may well have been foolish and too compliant with him. She wasn't the person in control. What is the ultimate act of control anyone exercises over another, killing Lisa Thompson is the ultimate act of control and depriving a woman of life and her jewellery in deplorable circumstances. Abusing her trust and stealing whatever money she had, that is the type of man he was".

There was no doubt, he said, that Ms Arnold had dropped McHugh to Sandyhill Gardens and picked him up but the question was what she knew and when she knew it. She said the prosecution had to establish "it was without good reason".

"It is not all duck and no dinner, if you are satisfied she knew it was a murder type offence and yet she assisted him, there is one obstacle there to conviction, it has to be without reasonable excuse".

He suggested to the jury that while his client may have driven the car, McHugh was really in the driving seat.

He reminded the jury about the "text traffic' between the pair and the allegations that McHugh had tried to kill the accused. "She observes he is a danger to women and mentions choke marks around her neck. Obviously she should have gone to gardaí and it's a terrible pity she didn't but did she know all these things when she picked him up and sat in the car".

Mr Gageby concluded by saying that the prosecution hadn't come up to the mark on the "large aspect" in the case that Ms Arnold knew McHugh had committed a murder or a murder type offence.

The trial continues on Monday before Mr Justice Patrick McGrath and a jury of six men and five women, when the judge will continue his charge.

Deirdre Arnold, with an address at Briarfield Grove, Kilbarrack, Dublin 5 is charged that on a date between May 9th and 10th, 2022, both dates inclusive, at a location within the State, did without reasonable excuse an act with intent to impede the apprehension or prosecution of Brian McHugh, a person who had committed an arrestable offence, namely murder, whilst knowing or believing Brian McHugh to be guilty of the offence or of some other arrestable offence.

Ms Arnold is also charged that on a date between May 9th and 10th, 2022, both dates inclusive, at a location within the State, acted or embarked upon a course of conduct which had a tendency to and was intended to pervert the course of public justice.

Ms Arnold has pleaded not guilty to the two counts.