Man guilty of burglary at Leo Murphy Photographystudio
The case was heard at Waterford Courthouse
A man has been found guilty of committing burglary at the late Leo Murphy’s Photography studio.
Peter Robinson (52) of 3 Lower Yellow Road, Gracedieu stood trial at Waterford Circuit Court accused on one count of burglary contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.
Robinson was found guilty of breaking into the late-photographer’s premises and stealing thousands of euro worth of equipment and tools on the night of March 13 – 14, 2020.
State Prosecutor Niall Storan BL opened the case for the jury of four women and eight men. Defence counsel Tom Giles Kelly BL acted for the accused under the instruction of Hilary Delahunty. The jury heard from five witnesses; crime scene investigator Garda Ruth Finn, Garda Kevin Nolan, then-Garda Jamie Quinn, Dr Ashley Allen of Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) and David Murphy, son of the late Leo Murphy. Garda Nolan presented exhibits to the jury including sheets of paper from the studio, curtains and a pair of size 7 Crane hiking boots, which the accused was wearing at the time. Dr Allen confirmed there were several boot-print impressions on the sheets that matched the impressions of the boots.
In the early hours of March 14, 2020, the accused was seen by on-duty Gardaí walking down Barker Street wearing a large black backpack and carrying an ‘extremely large’ shopping bag. Garda Quinn (now working as an officer in Australia) gave video evidence at the trial. He confirmed seeing Robinson walking away from the direction of Waterford Garda Station while carrying the two bags. Garda Quinn observed: "He was walking past a parked car, he dropped the shopping bag behind that car."
Garda Quinn saw the words ‘Leo Murphy Photography’ stitched onto the black backpack. The bag contained two Nikon cameras and lenses and the shopping bag contained two drill power tools. When Gardaí asked where the items came from Robinson claimed that he ‘found them’ by South East Refrigeration on Thomas Hill, around the corner from the studio, and was returning them to the Garda Station. When asked why he was walking in the opposite direction to the station, he claimed that he ‘didn’t know the area that well’. There were no CCTV cameras active on O'Connell Street or Thomas Hill at the time. The jury deliberated for 40 minutes before returning a unanimous verdict of guilty. Judge Eugene O’Kelly praised the ‘sharp observation’ of former Garda Quinn and noted that the late Leo Murphy had been ‘deprived’ of his tools due to the burglary. Robinson was remanded on bail and will return for sentencing in early 2026.
