Ireland Case No. 5308Murder · 22 Aug 2012
Supreme Court dismisses Graham Dwyer's appeal against conviction for Elaine O'Hara murder
The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Graham Dwyer's appeal against his conviction for the murder of Elaine O'Hara, who was last seen on 22 August 2012. The court ruled that the phone traffic and location data used at his trial was admissible.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Convicted30 Jul
4 reports - Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports38 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe Supreme Court dismissed Graham Dwyer's appeal against his conviction for the murder of Elaine O'Hara. (irishtimes.com)
- whereMs O’Hara was last seen in a park in Shanganagh, south Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
- whereDwyer lured O'Hara to Shanganagh Cemetery in south County Dublin and then took her to Kilakee Wood in the Dublin Mountains. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereSome of O'Hara's remains were found on Killakee mountain just over a year later. (irishtimes.com)
- whenMs O’Hara was last seen in August 2012. (irishtimes.com)
- whenDwyer was convicted on March 27, 2015, after a lengthy high-profile trial. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe murder occurred on August 22, according to the article. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenElaine O'Hara was last seen on 22 August 2012. (irishtimes.com)
- causeThe judges said attributing the text messages to Dwyer was an essential building block of the prosecution's case. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationSome of Ms O’Hara's remains were found on Killakee mountain just over a year later. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationMs O’Hara was identified from dental records. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí mounted a major investigation to prove to a jury that Dwyer was in a secret relationship with O'Hara and murdered her for sexual gratification. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationHer partial remains were found about a year after she disappeared, and a missing persons case became a murder investigation. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe Supreme Court will give a final ruling on Dwyer's bid to overturn his murder conviction on Wednesday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial was told a Nokia phone found in Vartry Reservoir in 2013 was used to send Ms O’Hara messages. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe prosecution said there was overwhelming evidence that Dwyer wrote the text messages to Ms O’Hara. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe Court of Appeal dismissed Dwyer's earlier appeal against his conviction in March of last year. (irishtimes.com)
- courtDwyer successfully challenged the validity of section six of the 2011 Communications (Retention of Data) Act in civil proceedings. (irishtimes.com)
- courtA seven-judge Supreme Court presided over by Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell heard the further appeal. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudgment in the further appeal was reserved and will be given on Wednesday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe Supreme Court dismissed Graham Dwyer's appeal against his conviction for murder. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe Supreme Court ruling was unanimous. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtDwyer's lawyers argued that his rights were breached through a system of mass surveillance involving retention of mobile phone data used to support his conviction. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe court said the appeal would have been dismissed even if the traffic and location data had been deemed inadmissible. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe state argued at the 2015 trial that Dwyer and O'Hara used phones to text each other before the murder. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtMr Justice Gerard Hogan gave a concurring judgment also dismissing the appeal. (irishtimes.com)
- courtDwyer was convicted of O'Hara's murder in 2015. (irishtimes.com)
- courtSeven Supreme Court judges unanimously dismissed his conviction appeal. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of appeal in March 2023. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe Supreme Court ruled that the phone traffic and location data was admissible at Dwyer's trial. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceDwyer was jailed for life in 2015. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceDwyer was convicted and jailed for life in 2015. (irishtimes.com)
- otherSources say Dwyer still insists he is innocent. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherDwyer was not in court for the judgment. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe prosecution case relied in part on text messages and traffic and location data from five mobile phones. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe court found substantial unchallenged evidence from hundreds of text messages linking Dwyer to O'Hara. (irishtimes.com)
- otherA text sent on 22 August 2012 told O'Hara's phone to go down to the shore and wait. (irishtimes.com)
- otherO'Hara's family said they hope she can now rest in peace. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 31 Jul2024Elaine O’Hara may ‘at last, rest in peace’ after Supreme Court rejection of Graham Dwyer’s appeal
Supreme Court judgment upholding Dwyer's murder conviction; it ruled the phone traffic and location data admissible and found substantial unchallenged text message evidence against him.
victim, Elaine O'Hara, irish (judged from name)Elaine O'Haraconvicted, Graham Dwyer, named, irish (judged from name)Graham Dwyer - 31 Jul2024Graham Dwyer loses final appeal against conviction for murder of Elaine O’Hara
The Supreme Court's unanimous judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Collins with a concurring judgment by Mr Justice Hogan, is the final ruling in Dwyer's long-running legal challenge. The court found the phone metadata evidence was properly admitted and that even without it, the remaining evidence was 'more than sufficient' to establish attribution beyond any reasonable doubt.
victim, Elaine O'Hara, female, irish (judged from name)Elaine O'Haraconvicted, Graham Dwyer, male, named, irish (judged from name)Graham Dwyer - 31 Jul2024Graham Dwyer learns his fate in last-ditch bid for freedom
Supreme Court dismissed the appeal against Dwyer's murder conviction; his appeal argued that phone data retention breached his rights. The article gives the murder year as 2012 but also says August 22, 2022 in one passage, so the incident date is taken as 2012-08-22.
victim, Elaine O'Hara, irish (judged from name)Elaine O'Haraconvicted, Graham Dwyer, named, irish (judged from name)Graham Dwyer - 30 Jul2024Supreme Court to rule on Wednesday on Graham Dwyer’s conviction appeal
Reports that the Supreme Court will give its judgment on Wednesday on Dwyer's further appeal against his murder conviction, and summarises the phone metadata issues and earlier rulings in the case.
victim, Elaine O'Hara, irish (judged from name)Elaine O'Haraconvicted, Graham Dwyer, named, irish (judged from name)Graham Dwyer