Victim shot dead by someone he knew
By Nevan Riley
An inquest into the death of Vincent O’ Brien, formerly of Kilbride Grove, Bray, has found that he was murdered by someone he had known.
Mr O’ Brien was shot three times in the head and once in the hand as he sat his living room couch on August 10, 2005. During the inquest it was discovered that the victim had shared a can of beer with his killer just moments before being gunned down.
The court was told that there were a number of beer cans in the room but that Mr O’Brien had a relatively low level of alcohol in his system at the time of death. It was also suggested that since Mr O’Brien’s two Alsatian dogs did not make strange with the gunman, he was likely to have been in the house before.
State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy carried out the post-mortem and found that Mr O'Brien had been shot three times in the head and once in the hand. The injuries would have caused extensive brain damage and led to rapid collapse and death, the court heard.
An unidentified man wearing a baseball cap and hooded top was seen running past the neighbour’s house in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing by a person unknown.
