Jury in Kildare's 'body in a suitcase' murder trial commence deliberations today

The jury in the trial of a 50-year-old man who allegedly shot his friend and dumped his dismembered body in a canal in Co Kildare almost three years ago has begun deliberating on a verdict.

Paul Wells Snr of Barnamore Park, Finglas in Dublin, has admitted shooting 33-year-old Kenneth O'Brien and dismembering his body.

However, he denies a charge of murder and claims to have shot Mr O'Brien as they struggled during a row.

The accused man has claimed that the row happened because Mr O'Brien had asked him to kill his partner Eimear Dunne and Mr Wells refused to do it.

After Mr O'Brien was shot, Mr Wells dismembered his body in his back yard in Finglas with a chainsaw, and threw the remains in the Grand Canal.

He told gardaí he panicked about disposing the body and chopped it up using a chainsaw he had borrowed from the deceased.

Mr O’Brien, a JCB driver, was reported missing on January 15, 2016, after he left his home telling family members he was going to work.

The father-of-one had recently come back from Australia where he had been employed for three years. The following day his remains were found in a suitcase by walkers at the Grand Canal near Celbridge.

Investigating gardai carried out a search operation resulting in other body parts being found in bags in the canal in Sallins while other evidence linked to the murder was found in a lake in the Curragh plains.

DNA tests confirmed the remains were those of Mr O’Brien.