Murder accused says Slieve League victim was 'breathing' when he left him

A man accused of the murder of Robert Wilkin told police officers the 66-year-old was "alive and breathing" at a cliff edge the last time he saw him, but could have "rolled over the edge", a court has heard.

lan Vial, 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal, and co-accused Nikita Burns, 23, from An Charraig, County Donegal, both deny the murder of Mr Wilkin on 25 June 2023.

The body of Mr Wilkin, who was also known as Robin, was found eight days later in the sea at the foot of the Slieve League cliffs in County Donegal.

Dublin Central Criminal Court heard on Tuesday that Mr Vial told gardaí (Irish police) that he and Mr Wilkin had a fight near a viewing point on the cliffs that overlooked the sea.

Mr Vial denied throwing Mr Wilkin off the cliff edge, insisting that he was "alive and breathing" when he left him.

He said his co-accused, Ms Burns, had a rock but he could not remember how Mr Wilkin suffered fractures to his head.

"I just noticed that he had serious injuries to his skull," Mr Vial said.

He described hitting Mr Wilkin on the nose with his palm, causing him to bleed over the car they had all been travelling in.

When the fight continued outside the car, he said he then struck him in the stomach and then placed the pensioner over a fence about four metres from the edge of the cliff.

Mr Vial said the 66-year-old was lying down, but was still breathing when he left but said he could have "rolled over the edge".

A police officer told the court that Mr Vial was arrested on 27 June 2023 and interviewed at Ballyshannon Garda Station.

She said that Mr Vial told detectives during interview that he was driving around various parts of County Donegal with Mr Wilkin and Ms Burns and decided to go to Slieve League at about 21:30 local time.

Mr Vial was then said to have told police he got out of the car, leaving Ms Burns with Mr Wilkin, but when he returned to the vehicle he heard Ms Burns crying "stop" and said that he saw Mr Wilkin trying to take her top off.

She said Mr Vial then described a fight breaking out, which ended with Mr Vial putting Mr Wilkin over the fence near the cliff before driving off.

He told officers that Ms Burns "wasn't involved in the altercation".

After some time, Mr Vial said he then returned to the cliff to see if he could find Mr Wilkin but came to the conclusion that he must have walked to a nearby pub or to a friend's house.

When CCTV contradicted Mr Vial's timeline of events, he accepted that he had made mistakes but denied lying.

He repeated that Mr Wilkin was breathing when he last saw him and described the discovery of Mr Wilkin's body in the sea below the cliffs as "a bit sad".

He added: "Ironically, he always wanted to be buried at sea, he was a skipper of a boat at one stage."

Mr Vial accepted that he and Nikita had cleaned and vacuumed blood from the car but denied that he was trying to destroy evidence. He said the blood came from Mr Wilkin's nose during the fight.

He denied using a rock or any implement to attack Mr Wilkin.

"When I placed him over the side of the fence, he was alive and breathing. It's Nikita's word against mine," he said.

A rock that had blood with DNA matching that of Mr Wilkin was shown to Mr Vial.

He denied using the rock to strike Mr Wilkin, and said they had used it in an effort to prevent him from rolling.

Gardai put it to Mr Vial that he killed Mr Wilkin and that Ms Burns helped.

He denied killing Mr Wilkins and when asked if it was an accident, he replied: "It wasn't my original intention".

He added: "He [Mr Wilkin] just went ballistic. I don't know what he expected to happen. He molested Nikita, I asked him to stop and he wouldn't stop."

He accused Mr Wilkin of trying to "feel her [Nikita Burns] up" several times that night, but added: "Neither of us intended for him to die."

The trial continues.