Case No. 2362Murder · Co. Donegal
Sliabh Liag murder accused Alan Vial admits lying to gardaí about victim sexually abusing co-accused
Alan Vial, 39, on trial for the murder of 66-year-old Robert Wilkin at Sliabh Liag, Donegal, admitted to the jury that he and his co-accused Nikita Burns 'came up with a bit of a story' about the death, including a false claim that Wilkin had sexually assaulted Burns. Vial described a fight in a car on Roshine Road, Burns striking Wilkin on the head with a rock, and the pair driving the body to Sliabh Liag before throwing it over the cliff.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court28 Jan
4 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports51 statements extracted from the articles
- whatDNA on the rock matched that of Robert Wilkin (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe rock measured about 20cm by 20cm with a depth of 9cm (irishtimes.com)
- whatDNA matching Wilkin was found on a blood stain on the lower part of the right leg of blue leggings allegedly worn by Burns (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe sole of a pair of Timberland boots allegedly belonging to Vial had bloodstains with DNA matching Wilkin (irishtimes.com)
- whatSamples from a vacuum cleaner tested positive for blood but provided insufficient DNA to generate a profile (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial described hitting Wilkin on the nose with his palm, causing him to bleed all over the Volkswagen Passat (irishmirror.ie)
- whatVial said he struck Wilkin in the stomach and then placed him over a fence about four metres from the edge of the cliff (irishmirror.ie)
- whatWilkin's body was found eight days later in the water below the Sliabh Liag cliffs (irishmirror.ie)
- whatVial said when he returned to the car he heard Burns crying 'stop' and saw Wilkin trying to take her top off (irishmirror.ie)
- whatVial and Burns cleaned and vacuumed blood from the Passat (irishmirror.ie)
- whatVial told the court he was fighting with a pensioner when his co-accused hit the victim on the back of the head with a rock (irishtimes.com)
- whatThey both carried the body towards a fence, with Vial holding the head and Burns holding the feet (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial is accused of murdering a 66-year-old man and throwing his body over the cliffs at Sliabh Liag in Donegal. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial accepted he lied to gardaí when he claimed the pensioner had sexually assaulted his co-accused Nikita Burns. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial accepted he lied in his 2023 garda interviews when he claimed Wilkin was breathing when he and Burns left him at Sliabh Liag. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial told the court he was fighting with Wilkin in a car on Roshine Road between Killybegs and Sliabh Liag following a day of heavy drinking. (irishtimes.com)
- whatBurns appeared at the passenger front door and twice struck Wilkin on the back of the head with a rock, causing him to stop breathing. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial said he was trying to protect Nikita because he had feelings for her when explaining why he did not tell gardaí she did it. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial drove to Sliabh Liag with Burns in the passenger seat while Wilkin lay with his legs over the centre console and the top half of his body in the back seat. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVial denied striking Wilkin with the rock or any weapon and said he did not ask Burns to strike the deceased. (irishtimes.com)
- whatA blue shirt found by searchers at sea was the one Vial had discarded. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe rock was found on the edge of the Sliabh Liag cliffs near a viewing point used by tourists (irishtimes.com)
- whereNikita Burns is from Carrick, Co Donegal (irishtimes.com)
- whereAlan Vial is from Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, Co Donegal (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe fight happened at Sliabh Liag near a viewing point over the sea in the early hours of the morning (irishmirror.ie)
- whereBurns is of Carrick, Co Donegal and Vial is of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, Co Donegal (irishmirror.ie)
- whereVial is from Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, Co Donegal (irishtimes.com)
- whereBurns is from Carrick, Co Donegal (irishtimes.com)
- whenThey decided to go to Sliabh Liag around 9.30pm while driving around various parts of Donegal (irishmirror.ie)
- causeThe rock strike caused the victim to stop breathing (irishtimes.com)
- causeA postmortem revealed two depressed fractures to the skull not in keeping with injuries from the fall (irishtimes.com)
- investigationVial was arrested on suspicion of murder on June 27, 2023 and interviewed at Ballyshannon Garda Station (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationCCTV contradicted Vial's timeline of events (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationThe jury had been expecting Vial to be further cross-examined on CCTV footage of his movements on the day Wilkin died. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeBoth pleaded not guilty of the murder of 66-year-old Robert Wilkin on June 25, 2023 in Donegal (irishmirror.ie)
- courtDr Conor Young of Forensic Science Ireland testified at the trial (irishtimes.com)
- courtVial will continue his evidence on Tuesday (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven women and five men (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe jury consists of seven women and five men. (irishtimes.com)
- otherVial told gardaí the discovery of Wilkin's body was ironic as Wilkin always wanted to be buried at sea (irishmirror.ie)
- otherVial denied battering Wilkin's head with a rock or throwing him off the cliffs (irishmirror.ie)
- otherVial insisted Wilkin was alive and breathing when he left him (irishmirror.ie)
- otherVial said Wilkin was lying down winded but still breathing when he left (irishmirror.ie)
- otherVial said Burns was not involved in the altercation and did not assault anyone (irishmirror.ie)
- otherBurns described Vial battering Wilkin's brains in with a rock (irishmirror.ie)
- otherA rock with blood on it and DNA matching Wilkin was shown to Vial (irishmirror.ie)
- otherVial denied using the rock to strike Wilkin, saying they used it to prevent him from rolling (irishmirror.ie)
- otherVial said Wilkin had molested Burns and tried to feel her up several times that night (irishmirror.ie)
- otherVial said he lied in his Garda interviews (irishtimes.com)
- otherVial said he did not know Burns was going to use a rock to strike Wilkin (irishtimes.com)
- otherVial described Wilkin as his friend and said he did not want him to die (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 11 Feb2025Sliabh Liag murder accused admits lying to gardaí about victim sexually abusing co-accused
Vial gave evidence at trial admitting he lied to gardaí in 2023 about the circumstances of Wilkin's death and the sexual assault claim. He described the sequence of events, denied striking Wilkin himself, and admitted washing blood at Teelin Pier and discarding a blue shirt. The trial was interrupted by a legal issue raised by Mr Justice Paul McDermott.
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 - 10 Feb2025Murder accused claims his former partner hit victim on head with rock
Vial's trial testimony: he claims Burns struck Wilkin with a rock, he drove to Sliabh Liag to dispose of the body, Burns took money from Wilkin's pocket, and they carried the body over a fence and dropped it off the cliff. He said he lied in Garda interviews to protect Burns and did not know she would use a rock.
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 - 4 Feb2025Murder accused told gardaí deceased was alive when he left him at Donegal cliffs
Adds detailed testimony from Vial's gardaí interview: his account of the fight at Sliabh Liag, his denial of using a rock, the discovery of a blood-stained rock with Wilkin's DNA, his claim Wilkin was still breathing, the cleaning of blood from the Passat, and his assertion that Wilkin had molested Burns that night.
victim, Robert 'Robin' Wilkin, 66, male, irish (judged from name)Robert 'Robin' Wilkinaccused, Alan Vial, 39, male, named, non-irish (judged from name)Alan Vialaccused, Nikita Burns, 23, female, named, non-irish (judged from name)Nikita Burns - 28 Jan2025Bloodstained rock found at the top of Ireland’s tallest cliffs matched pensioner’s DNA, court told
Reports forensic and ballistics evidence presented at the trial, including the bloodstained rock, DNA analysis, blood spatter patterns in the car, and items recovered at the scene.
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