A bloodstained jacket belonging to a childcare worker has been presented to a jury in the trial of a man accused of attempting to murder three children in Dublin. The Central Criminal Court in Dublin heard that multiple children and an adult were injured in the attack, including a girl who is now in a wheelchair and non-verbal.
Charges and Evidence
Riad Bouchaker, aged 52 and of no fixed address, faces charges of attempted murder of two girls and one boy, as well as assault causing serious harm to care worker Leanne Flynn, in Parnell Square East, Dublin City, on November 23, 2023. He is also charged with assaulting three other individuals and possessing a 36cm kitchen knife. Bouchaker has pleaded not guilty to all eight charges.
On the third day of the trial, the jury viewed additional CCTV footage of the area before the attack and stills from Dublin Bus cameras. The jury of three women and nine men also heard testimony from a childcare assistant who helped police identify children in the CCTV stills, a woman who was shopping in the area that day, and a Dublin Bus driver.
Crime Scene Photos
Under questioning from prosecutor Karl Finnegan SC, Garda Niall Ormsby confirmed he took photos of the scene, including aerial shots. One photo showed a beige sleeveless jacket hanging on railings outside a nearby hotel, and another depicted a black-handled knife on a green area, taken about an hour after the event. A colleague of Ormsby also photographed a navy rucksack believed to belong to the suspect, along with packaging for a carving knife found inside the backpack.
Four exhibits were shown to the jury, including the beige sleeveless coat belonging to Ms Flynn, which was discovered hanging on the railing outside a hotel in Parnell Square. They also saw a black and navy child's jacket with fur on the hood, obtained from the same hotel's reception. Additionally, a pink and green unicorn schoolbag and a child's black jacket, the latter appearing bloodstained, were retrieved from a ground floor toilet of a school.
Witness Testimonies
Patricia Byrne, who was shopping near the Jervis Street area that day, said she heard a man dressed in dark clothing being, in her opinion, quite aggressive. She noted he crossed in front of a person and said, "shit Irish, shit f****** Irish," before repeating the phrase to a group. When shown CCTV footage from Mary Street, she identified herself as the woman in the top right corner, wearing black trousers and a pink jacket. "At that stage the person was talking quite abusive," she said. "I'm looking back because the person was coming around the corner."
David Corr, a Dublin Bus driver from the Broadstone depot, said he arrived in Parnell Square East at 12:45 pm on November 23, 2023, before his shift. He met a colleague and was approached by a man asking for directions to the school. Corr described the man as wearing a black shirt with jet black beard and hair. He pointed and said, "it's just up here." After his shift, Corr saw news of the incident and contacted Gardaí, telling them he thought the encounter was peculiar. He identified himself on CCTV as the man in the orange hi-vis jacket but could not be 100% sure he saw the suspect on the footage. He added that he had no recollection of the man wearing a hat.
The trial, presided over by Judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt, continues on Friday afternoon.
