Case No. 2501Murder · Co. Donegal · 25 Jun 2023
Murder trial of Robert Wilkin: testimony on pre-incident altercation and post-incident car visit at Sliabh Liag
At the Central Criminal Court trial of Alan Vial and Nikita Burns for the murder of Robert 'Robin' Wilkin at Sliabh Liag, Donegal, in June 2023, the court heard testimony about an altercation between Vial and Wilkin three days before the alleged killing, and about a car arriving at the cliff car park shortly after the incident. The jury also viewed CCTV footage of the defendants' movements on the night of the alleged murder.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court16 Jan
7 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports77 statements extracted from the articles
- whatIt is alleged that Wilkin's body was disposed of by throwing it over the cliff edge at Sliabh Liag. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe prosecution case is that the two accused caused Wilkin's death in a joint enterprise with the intention to cause serious injury. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatEach accused claimed the other 'did it'. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatWilkin's body was allegedly thrown off the Sliabh Liag cliffs in Donegal. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatWilkin was allegedly assaulted in an area known as Roshine before being driven to Sliabh Liag. (irishtimes.com)
- whatWhether Wilkin was dead when put over the cliffs is undetermined. (irishtimes.com)
- whatAfter about 38 minutes the car came back down, at which point the prosecution alleges Wilkin had been put over the cliff. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIn garda interviews Burns initially denied knowledge but later said Vial struck Wilkin with a rock and disposed of his body. (irishtimes.com)
- whatBurns admitted she helped to clean the car. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial made admissions regarding an assault but denied murder or that he disposed of the body. (irishtimes.com)
- whatBurns told a friend she battered a man with a rock until his face was out the back of his head and liked it (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said she and Vial drove until 3am and pushed Wilkin off Sliabh Liag (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said they would not find Wilkin (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said Wilkin's blood was on the roof of the car (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said there was a slim chance they would get caught (irishmirror.ie)
- whatWilkin's body was found one week later in the water below the Sliabh Liag cliffs (irishmirror.ie)
- whatChris Quinn said Burns seemed panicky and deranged when she knocked on his door around midnight (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns repeatedly told Quinn she was a murderer (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said Wilkin was touching up her legs and that is why Vial got pissed and dragged him out the back and started caving his head in (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said Vial had been arrested later that evening for drink driving after crashing the car (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said Vial began throwing punches at Wilkin from behind before getting out and getting a rock (irishmirror.ie)
- whatBurns said she and Vial drove until 3am after a fight with Wilkin (irishtimes.com)
- whatBurns said there was blood on the roof of the car (irishtimes.com)
- whatBoth pleaded not guilty to the murder of 66-year-old Robin Wilkin on 25 June 2023 (irishtimes.com)
- whatBurns said either she or Vial got a rock from somewhere along the road and she hit the man in his face (irishtimes.com)
- whatQuinn heard laughter from the room where Burns and two other men were sitting (irishtimes.com)
- whatO'Dowd called her son to record the conversation on his mobile phone (irishtimes.com)
- whatAfter the alleged murder, Alan Vial borrowed a vacuum cleaner from Bruce Vial to clean his car. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMichael Molloy is a ranger at Sliabh Liag who operates the gate at the lower car park, about two kilometres from the viewing point at the top of the cliff. (irishtimes.com)
- whatOn June 25, after the alleged murder, a car with a male driver and female passenger arrived at the Sliabh Liag car park. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe man told the ranger he needed to collect someone from the top who could not walk. (irishtimes.com)
- whatAbout 20 minutes later, the car returned with no new passenger. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe jury watched CCTV footage of the alleged movements of Burns and Vial on the night of the alleged murder. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe jury was shown a CCTV montage of the accused's movements on the night of the killing (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe prosecution case centres on CCTV footage showing the accused's movements with Mr Wilkin in a Volkswagen Passat (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe prosecution says Roshine is most likely where Mr Wilkin was assaulted (irishtimes.com)
- whatAfter about 38 minutes the car came back down and the prosecution alleges Mr Wilkin had been put over the cliff (irishtimes.com)
- whatA black Passat was seen reversing at The Fleet Inn pub in Killybegs at 9.52pm on June 24 with Mr Vial getting into the front passenger seat (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe Passat was seen travelling towards Killybegs at 1.34am and arriving at Roshine Road at 1.46am (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe car had to stop for someone to get out and open the gate (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe car moved towards the summit passing bends at 2.22am and the summit car park has no CCTV cameras (irishtimes.com)
- whatAt 2.58am the car was seen coming back and passing the Sliabh Liag visitor centre at 3.06am (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe car arrived on the main street in Killybegs at 3.49am (irishtimes.com)
- whatSergeant Gallagher tracked the movements of the accused through four pubs from 9.45pm until 1.30am (irishtimes.com)
- whatMs Burns was seen on CCTV having nine drinks, of which three were doubles (irishtimes.com)
- whereBurns is from Carrick, Co Donegal. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
- whereVial is from Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, Co Donegal. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
- whereBurns is of Carrick, Co Donegal (irishmirror.ie)
- whereVial is of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, Co Donegal (irishmirror.ie)
- whereBurns said the incident happened a wee bit outside Killybegs (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe alleged murder occurred at Sliabh Liag, Donegal. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe murder is alleged to have occurred on 25 June 2023 (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationCCTV footage shows the movements of the two accused with Wilkin in a Volkswagen Passat on the night of June 24 into the early hours of the following day. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationBurns was arrested the following morning and Vial was arrested a short time later. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí conducted a large-scale search involving the coastguard, helicopters, cliff climbers and drones. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA postmortem could not determine the cause of death. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationState Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster identified two depressed fractures to the head caused by blows from a blunt object administered while Wilkin was alive. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeAlan Vial and Nikita Burns are charged with the murder of Robert 'Robin' Wilkin on 25 June 2023 in Donegal. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeNikita Burns pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another person for an arrestable offence. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeAlan Vial pleaded not guilty. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeBurns pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another person for an arrestable offence. (irishmirror.ie, irishtimes.com)
- chargeBurns pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another person but the prosecution did not accept the plea (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeBurns pleaded guilty to impeding apprehension or prosecution but the prosecution did not accept the plea (irishtimes.com)
- chargeMs Burns pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another person but the prosecution did not accept her plea (irishtimes.com)
- courtA jury of five men and seven women was selected to hear the trial. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is being held at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is expected to last up to three weeks. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial opened at the Central Criminal Court on 17 January 2025. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is before Mr Justice Paul McDermott. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtVial of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, pleaded not guilty to murder. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe trial is being heard before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women at the Central Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe prosecution does not accept Burns's guilty plea as it does not believe it reflects her involvement. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherWilkin was originally from Tyrone but had been transient with no fixed abode for some time. (irishtimes.com)
- otherBernard Condon SC is prosecuting and Eoin Lawlor SC is defending Ms Burns (irishtimes.com)
- otherSergeant Ronan Gallagher gave evidence on the CCTV timeline (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 23 Jan2025Donegal cliffs murder trial: Jury shown CCTV montage of alleged movements of accused
Reports on a day of the ongoing trial in which the jury viewed CCTV footage tracking the accused's movements in a Volkswagen Passat from 9.52pm on 24 June to 2.32pm on 25 June 2023, including two trips to the Sliabh Liag summit. Sergeant Ronan Gallagher gave evidence on the timeline. The prosecution case is joint enterprise with intention to cause serious injury. The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott.
victim, 66, male, irish (judged from name)accused, Nikita Burns, 22, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burnsaccused, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vial - 22 Jan2025Man allegedly thrown off Ireland’s highest cliffs had earlier altercation with murder accused, court hears
Trial testimony from Bruce Vial (defendant's brother) describing a pre-incident altercation and post-incident vacuum cleaner borrowing, and from ranger Michael Molloy describing a car arriving at the Sliabh Liag car park after the alleged murder. Jury viewed CCTV of defendants' movements on the night of the alleged killing.
victim, 66, male, irish (judged from name)accused, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vialaccused, Nikita Burns, 23, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burns - 21 Jan2025Donegal cliffs murder case: Accused told friend she ‘liked’ battering man with rock
Adds testimony from Chris Quinn about Burns's statements the night after the alleged murder and a phone recording of Burns telling Sharon O'Dowd that she and Vial 'caved his head in' with a rock.
victim, 66, male, irish (judged from name)suspect, Nikita Burns, 23, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burnssuspect, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vial - 21 Jan2025Donegal murder trial hears woman told friend she 'battered' man and liked it
New testimony from Chris Quinn and Sharon O'Dowd, including a phone recording, in which Burns described the alleged killing to friends the night after the incident, saying she 'battered' Wilkin with a rock and 'liked it', and that she and Vial 'pushed him off Sliabh Liag.'
victim, Robert 'Robin' Wilkin, 66, male, irish (judged from name)Robert 'Robin' Wilkinaccused, Nikita Burns, 23, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burnsaccused, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vial - 17 Jan2025Donegal cliffs murder case: Each of the accused claimed the other ‘did it’, court told
Prosecution opening statement by Bernard Condon SC detailing the joint enterprise case, CCTV timeline, forensic evidence (bloodied rock, jumper, blanket), the accused's admissions in garda interviews, and the pathologist's findings of two depressed skull fractures.
victim, maleaccused, Nikita Burns, 22, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burnsaccused, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vial - 17 Jan2025Two accused of murdering man in Donegal each claimed the other 'did it'
Reports the opening of the trial with the prosecution's joint enterprise case outlined by Bernard Condon SC, the fact that each accused blamed the other, Burns's guilty plea to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another person (which the prosecution does not accept), and the composition of the jury before Mr Justice Paul McDermott.
victim, Robert 'Robin' Wilkin, male, irish (judged from name)Robert 'Robin' Wilkinaccused, Nikita Burns, 22, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burnsaccused, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vial - 16 Jan2025Man and woman plead not guilty to murder of man in Donegal
Reports the opening of the trial, jury selection (five men, seven women), the pleas entered by both defendants, and that the trial is expected to last up to three weeks before Mr Justice David Keane.
victim, Robert 'Robin' Wilkin, male, irish (judged from name)Robert 'Robin' Wilkinaccused, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vialaccused, Nikita Burns, 22, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burns