Aaron Connolly “lied from the start about murdering Cameron Reilly,” according to the court

Mr Bowman said this was a case where “inferences play a big part”.

He told the jury that if those conclusions are equal, they must fall in favor of the defense. He said the law goes further and these conclusions need not be the same; If prosecution is more likely and defense is less likely, they have to choose defense, he said.

In the closing arguments of the now 23-year-old’s trial, Mr Kelly said that in a sense this case is about lies and about science. He said lies are the subject of “grey areas” but the science tells the truth.

People lie for all sorts of reasons, Mr Kelly said, but science tells us certain things, and it tells us those things with absolute certainty.”

“Lies are something that can be scrutinized, at least metaphorically. I suggest that you look carefully at all the lies being told in this case and ask yourself what kind of liar Mr Connolly is, because a liar he certainly is. He lied from the beginning of this investigation to the end.”

“Everything he’s told you from the moment they left the group is nonsense, and it’s self-serving nonsense.”

Mr Kelly said it was for the jury to decide whether Aaron Connolly lied to hide his privacy or because he smothered his friend Cameron Reilly sometime between 12.40am and 1.40am leaving him dead or dying in that cold field left behind.

The lawyer said Connolly lied with “precise details” all “made up in the mind of a man weaving a story to defend his own interests”. The second aspect of the way Mr Connolly lied was the “continuous evolution” of the lies as the evidence from the Gardaí investigation was sent and carefully presented to him.

“The manner in which Mr. Connolly lies is artful and careful, there is much detail,” he said, adding the details of these rebuttals and “destroying” the suggestion that these are lies made out of an “honest or understandable reason” were told.

“These are lies told by a killer to protect a killer,” Kelly told jurors.

He said in his statement to Gardaí on May 26 Aaron Connolly said Cameron Reilly was in “good shape” when he left him at the entrance to the Beechwood estate and he “never looked back” to see which ones direction he went [Cameron Reilly] went.

“All nonsense, it never happened that it didn’t exist, he went on with Cameron Reilly, we only know that from two days ago now,” Mr Kelly said.

He said Aaron Connolly “pointed the finger of accusation” at someone else for the murder, lied about his account of his time with Cameron Reilly and laid the groundwork for his lies about the time by telling Gardaí he could do not remember what happened He is not reported in the last hour before walking around the city on CCTV.

“There’s a wealth of detail up until the moment he’s about to leave Cameron and after that it’s black,” Mr Kelly said, adding Connolly told Gardaí the reason he didn’t stick to the last lesson remembered was that he took cocaine and MDMA.

When asked by Gardaí about his sexuality, based on available DNA evidence, Connolly said he had never been with a man, but Jack Conway refutes the lies Connolly put forward in interviews, saying Gardaí he had sexual relations with the Defendants on a number of occasions, attorney said.

“The DNA evidence is presented to him and he can’t explain it, he says it’s false,” the attorney said, adding that this was despite the fact his clothes were loaded with Mr. Reilly’s DNA.

The prosecutor said the evidence from pathologist Dr. Linda Mulligan made it clear that Cameron Reilly was “seriously and brutally assaulted” and that whoever inflicted those injuries intended to seriously hurt Mr Reilly.

She had outlined the extensive injuries to the front of the deceased’s neck and that these were probably not caused by a ligature, as these would almost always leave specific marks, but rather by a chokehold or rough-surfaced tool.

He said the defendant officially admitted on Wednesday to giving Mr Reilly oral sex. He said these admissions were “skeletal” and “lacking any detail.”

“Finally the penny dropped, this detail is not his friend, this detail was never his friend. That’s how you finally catch a liar; in detail,” said the lawyer.

In response to Mr Kelly in his closing statement, Mr Bowman told the jury it was important to remember what the law actually is.

He said Mr Kelly “went through virtually every aspect of where he says the lies were told”.

However, Mr Bowman told the jury: “The law says that the mere fact that the accused is lying is not sufficient evidence. You can lie out of panic and confusion; they can lie because they are afraid for all sorts of reasons.”

The attorney said Dean Kenny, a witness in the case who did nothing wrong, initially lied to gardaí because he “didn’t want to be falsely accused of anything.”

He said once the air of suspicion hangs over you and you’re asked questions under oath, “it puts you in a difficult position,” and he said that’s the position Aaron Connolly was in.

He told the jury they had to be careful about what they draw from the fact that gardaí asked a young man of fluid sex if he was straight.

He said Aaron Connolly was asked if he had ever experimented sexually, “perhaps he answered that somewhat ambiguously, or perhaps experimentation doesn’t mean to Mr. Connolly what it means to a detective,” the attorney said.

“He exposed himself as a result of his lies and, ironically, fear of being falsely accused led to his being charged,” Mr Bowman said.

He said if this case boils down to the suggestions made by Mr Kelly then the single verdict is not guilty.

Aaron Connolly of Willistown, Drumcar, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Reilly, 18, at Shamrock Hill, Dunleer on 26th May 2018.

Judge Tony Hunt will give his instructions to the jury of seven women and five men on Monday.