David Hunter, a 47-year-old Liverpool-born hitman, has failed in his bid to overturn his murder conviction for the 2016 execution-style killing of Michael Barr in a Dublin pub. Hunter, who wore a Freddy Krueger mask during the attack, claimed he was in Ireland to attend a UB40 concert, an alibi that was dismissed as 'unbelievable and untrue' by the courts.
Execution at Sunset House
On April 2016, Hunter and another man, convicted cage fighter Eamon Cumberton, entered the Sunset House pub in Dublin wearing boiler suits and rubber masks. They opened fire on Michael Barr, 35, a known dissident republican and bar manager, who was attending a fundraiser for the wives of IRA prisoners. Barr was shot seven times, five in the head.
Eyewitnesses initially mistook the gunmen for pranksters or a 'kissogram' act. A former soldier thought the gunman was holding a 9mm handgun as a joke, while a woman believed the men were part of a kissogram delivery. The illusion shattered when a stray bullet hit the mirror behind the bar, and patrons realized the shooting was real.
Feud Between Crime Gangs
The murder was linked to a violent feud between the Kinahan Cartel and the Hutch gang, which began in 2015 and claimed at least 18 lives. The tit-for-tat conflict escalated after the Regency Hotel shooting, where David Byrne was killed by men disguised as police officers and in drag, wielding AK47 rifles. Hunter was drawn into the plot days after that attack, according to Irish media outlet RTE.
Bungled Escape and DNA Evidence
After the shooting, Hunter and Cumberton fled in a vehicle that was dumped and set on fire. However, emergency services reached the burning car before flames destroyed the evidence. Inside, they recovered four guns, including the murder weapon, ski masks, rubber masks, a mobile phone, and boiler suits. Hunter's DNA was found on two masks.
Hunter was extradited to Ireland on a European arrest warrant. In his defense, he claimed his DNA was on a ski mask because he had dropped it during a car theft months earlier, but could not explain its presence on the rubber mask. He also said he was in Ireland to sell a red BMW and attend a UB40 concert, but the concert date did not match the murder date.
Trial and Appeal
At his trial before the non-jury Special Criminal Court, presiding judge Alexander Owens found that evidence proved Hunter was one of the gunmen 'in a compelling way'. The three-judge panel described his alibi as 'unbelievable and untrue'. Hunter's own lawyers called him 'no James Bond or Ethan Hunt', but rather 'a two-bit car thief'. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Hunter launched an appeal in 2025, arguing that the trial court wrongly rejected eyewitness evidence about the gunman's height. Defense lawyer Michael Bowman noted that one witness described the gunman as 6ft 1in or 2in, while Hunter is 5ft 10in. Bowman also said a witness reported the gunman wore a ski mask under a latex mask, which the trial did not acknowledge.
However, Judge John Edwards dismissed the appeal on Monday, stating that the Special Criminal Court's assessment of eyewitness evidence was 'cogent and rigorous'. He rejected concerns over height, DNA evidence, and the court's approach, upholding the murder conviction.
