THE sister of a man who was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity has spoken of her relief that "finally the truth is out", adding "my brother was no scumbag".
Amanda Ryle was speaking after an inquest into the death of her brother Robert who was shot seven times in an attack in Clondalkin in 2010.
Ms Ryle said that the family were happy that his name had been cleared, adding that her 30-year-old brother "did not deserve the death he got and now justice has been served".
"This was mistaken identity. His name has been cleared," she said.
The Dublin Coroner's Court heard how a masked gunman who waited in the shadows to carry out an attack had shot the wrong man.
Gardai at the inquest into the death of father-of-one Robert Ryle from Blackditch Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, confirmed that they believe that he was shot in a case of "mistaken identity".
Mr Ryle died at Tallaght Hospital on October 27, 2010, three days after he was attacked outside a house at Foxdene Park in Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
Dublin Coroner's Court heard that he spent the day of the shooting with his friend Michael Duffy and they were returning by car to Mr Duffy's house at around 8.20pm when Mr Ryle was shot.
Mr Duffy, who was not present but whose deposition was read into the record, told gardai that Mr Ryle had gotten out of the car to move a child's bicycle in the driveway when the killer struck. He said he heard a bang and when he looked he saw a man – who was wearing a mask from the movie Scream – coming from the side of the house.
He reversed the car and caught the killer between the vehicle and a pillar but the attacker still managed to get around the corner and fled from the scene. Speaking from the body of the court, the Ryle family claimed that Mr Duffy was the intended target.
Detective Inspector Richard McDonnell confirmed that there were threats against other members of the Duffy family and that no such threat existed against Robert Ryle.
"It is our belief that Robert was not a person involved in activities that would have resulted in his death. Whoever was there had a specific purpose and we believe that Robert was not the target," he said.
Despite intensive treatment at Tallaght Hospital, Mr Ryle died three days after the attack.
WOUNDS
The post-mortem was carried out by state pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy who found seven gunshot wounds on his body with some causing severe damage to his internal organs.
She gave the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds to the neck and trunk.
Det Insp McDonnell said that nobody has been charged in relation to the murder and the case remains open.
The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing by a person unknown and were satisfied it was mistaken identity.
