Crime World

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has now been cross-examined by the prosecution in Newry Crown Court where he is on trial over 18 alleged offences. He has plead not guilty to charges including rape and allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency. Both complainants alleged they were abused as children. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, from Dublinhill Road in Dromore, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending. She is facing a trial of the facts on mental health grounds. Allison Morris is covering the trial for the Belfast Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The brother of an Irish soccer star has been reported missing and feared dead in Spain. The victim in his 30s had been living in Spain for a number of years and associating with members of the Kinahan organization. Nicola speaks to Niall Donald on this breaking news story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeffrey Donaldson has denied raping a seven-year-old child, under cross-examination, saying “it simply didn’t happen”. The former MP spent Thursday on the witness stand in Newry Crown Court. During the questioning, he admitted having an affair. Mr Donaldson is accused of rape and several counts of gross indecency and of indecent assault. The sixty-three-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the 18 alleged offences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MTK Global gets a major boost when US boxing promoter legend Bob Yalen is announced as their new president. Nothing is going to stop Daniel Kinahan’s attempt to break America. A bizarre book, rap song and film about the Regency Hotel attack are released that paint the event in a very different light. For a while it seems to work, MTK sign tournament contracts with Sky Sports and ESPN. However, Daniel’s connection to the company proves troublesome again. And then begin whispers about a new BBC documentary in the works, charting Daniel’s ongoing rise in the boxing world and his links to criminality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Kinahan is determined to dominate the boxing world – not even an attempt by a rival gang to assassinate him at The Regency Hotel in Dublin can slow him down. He continues to woo top level boxers onto his books. However, things get too hot on the Costa for the Kinahan brothers, they move to Dubai and eventually intense attention from policing authorities sees Daniel step down as the public face of MGM. But he’s still expanding the business with major signings like Carl Frampton. In the meantime, his cartel business is facing major disruption, by the end of 2018 more than 70 Irish Kinahan associates are convicted or awaiting trial. Daniel doubles down on his propaganda war to sportswash his reputation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 5th December 2000 Ann O’Grady rings the Collins family to tell them Sandra has failed to return home after being out the night before. A major search is launched, covering miles of the surrounding countryside. Lifeboats comb the nearby waters, but there’s no sign of Sandra, apart from her dark pink coloured fleece jacket, which mysteriously turns up on the pier five days after she goes missing. There are two scraps of paper in the pockets, one has the phone number for an abortion clinic in the UK, the other has a mobile number for a local man. But the Collins family aren’t told who he is or what his connection to Sandra is about.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I can’t get my head around” the abuse allegations made by Witness B, Jeffrey Donaldson told police.The tape of the former MP’s interview with the PSNI was played at his trial in Newry Crown Count on Monday morning.The jury also heard Donaldson deny that he apologised to Witness in the case because he thought it would “make this go away”.“I wasn’t doing anything untoward,” Jeffrey Donaldson told police officers in relation to accusations made by Witness A.Donaldson (63) is accused of rape and several counts of gross indecency and of indecent assault. He denies all 18 alleged offences. There are two alleged victims, Complainant A and Complainant B.His wife Eleanor Donaldson, from Dublinhill Road in Dromore denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending.Allison Morris was in court. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The murder of Pat Finucane is one of the most notorious of the Troubles. The 39-year-old Belfast solicitor was shot dead at his family home in north Belfast in 1989 by UDA gunmen. A series of investigations revealed collusion with the state. The first hearing of a public inquiry into the killing is set to take place soon – with Sir Gary Hickinbottom as chairman of the inquiry. Pat Finucane’s family, including his son, Sinn Fein MP John Finucane, has long fought for an inquiry into the case to be opened.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Newry Crown Court has heard Jeffrey Donaldson sent a message to a minister supporting one of his alleged victims, saying he wanted to “repent before them as he had before God.” The husband of an alleged victim in the abuse trial has broken down as he gave evidence on Thursday.  63-year-old former MP Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all the 18 charges he is facing, they include rape and several counts of gross indecency and of indecent assault. His wife Eleanor Donaldson, from Dublinhill Road in Dromore, County Down denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending.  She is facing a trial of the facts.  Allison Morris is covering the trial for the Belfast Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Troubles with wedding dress shopping in an electronic tag, sports stars finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, and the week’s most bizarre story.This is a Crime World weekly round up from crimeworld.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen McCullagh will do at least 31 years of jail time before he is even considered for release. 32-year-old Natalie McNally had been 15 weeks pregnant when she was subjected to a violent attack and murdered at her home in Lurgan in December 2022.  The judge, Mr Justice Kinney, told McCullagh that he committed a “brutal senseless murder and planned it in remorseless detail.” “The killing was cold blooded and calculated.”  McCullagh tried to pin the murder on Lewis Jones, Natalie’s ex-partner, after having set up a false alibi. But the jury rejected that and found McCullagh guilty of the murder at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year.  Our Bel Tel colleagues Ciaran Dunbar and Kurtis Reid discuss what happened in court for the tariff hearing.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A jury has heard a police interview recording of a woman who claims she was raped as a child by Jeffrey Donaldson. Jurors at Newry Crown Court heard allegations against the former DUP leader by a woman who claims it happened when she was at primary school. She also alleged that Donaldson arranged for her to be sent to a Christian Rehabilitation Centre and apologised to her there. Sixty-three-year-old Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences said to have taken place between 1985 and 2008 involving two complainants known as Witness A and B. His wife Eleanor Donaldson faces a trial of the facts on aiding and abetting allegations after the trial judge ruled her medically unfit to stand trial. Allison Morris is covering the trial for the Belfast Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frank McCann murdered his wife, Esther, and her daughter, Jessica, on the 4th of September 1992. The moment Marian Leonard heard the news that her sister and niece had perished in a house fire, she suspected that McCann had somehow been involved. McCann received two life sentences in 1996. In recent weeks, Marian has once again had to meet with the parole board to ask them not to release McCann. Jenny Friel speaks to Marian Leonard to ask her why it's so important to her that McCann stays behind bars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.