The murder of Robert Holohan

A timeline of the events surrounding the murder of Robert Holohan.

4 January
Robert left his home at Ballyedmond at 2.30 pm to call for friends. He was later contacted on his mobile phone by his mother, Majella. He failed to return home that evening and his BMX bike was found against a hedge 500 yards from his home.

6-11 January
A massive search operation to find Robert Holohan is undertaken, with 1,200 volunteers searching the Midleton area. The Garda begin using mobile phone tracing techniques to locate Robert.

12 January
Robert Holohan's body is discovered amongst undergrowth in a ditch at Inch Strand.

14 January
State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, starts a post-mortem 22 hours after the body is first discovered. They confirm that he died of asphyxiation.

16 January
Wayne O'Donoghue confesses to his parents.

17 January
20-year-old engineering student Wayne is charged with manslaughter at Midleton District Court.

21 April
The manslaughter charge is revised to a murder charge.

29 November
Wayne O'Donoghue's trial opens in a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork. O'Donoghue admits the manslaughter charge but denies murder. The trial lasts for ten days.

14 December
The jury return a unanimous verdict of manslaughter. A jury of five men and seven women took four hours and 24 minutes to make their decision.

24 January
O'Donoghue is sentenced to four years in prison.