The highest court in the land has ruled that the seizure of his computer, from which evidence was presented at trial, was unlawful because of an issue with a warrant.
In 2019, Patrick Quirke of Breanshamore, County Tipperary was convicted of murdering Bobby Ryan.
It was the prosecution’s case that he killed him in an effort to rekindle an affair he was having with Bobby Ryan's girlfriend.
He lost an appeal last year, but has now overcome a significant challenge before the Supreme Court.
The court has decided that the seizure of his computer was unlawful because the judge who approved a warrant to search his home wasn’t told specifically that Gardaí intended to take computers and other electronic devices.
An analysis of his computer revealed he was looking up things relating to body decomposition and forensic DNA ahead of what the prosecution claimed was his staged discovery of Bobby’s remains almost two years after he went missing.
A full hearing will be held at a later date in relation to what consequences will flow from today’s decision.
