Murderer Graham Dwyer is ‘acting like nothing has happened’ in Midlands Prison after losing court appeal

• Yesterday 21:23

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Graham Dwyer is acting like “nothing has happened” in the aftermath of losing his appeal for the murder of Elaine O’Hara, as the judicial system braces for a potential appeal to the Supreme Court.

Last Friday week, Dwyer lost his appeal against his conviction for the 2012 murder of the vulnerable childcare worker.

The Court of Appeal found that the limited admission of call data could not give rise to a miscarriage of justice and did not uphold any ground of appeal.

It meant the 50-year-old architect will remain in prison to continue serving his life sentence.

The father-of-three is housed in the Midlands Prison, and sources in the jail say he is “getting on with things” and “acting as though nothing has happened” since he learned his appeal was rejected.

“There has been no reaction from him. He’s either in complete denial or he’s convinced himself this is not the end of the road,” according to a source.

Meanwhile, a legal expert says Dwyer has 21 days since he lost his appeal to attempt a fresh appeal to the Supreme Court on a point of law.

“It is most likely he will try to appeal to the Supreme Court, given that he has nothing to lose. But whether his lawyers have a point of law to compel another appeal is another matter,” they said.

“It also looms large that this is all on legal aid, so the State is footing the bill, the taxpayer essentially. His legal team would want to have a compelling argument to justify another appeal. The reality is his chances are slim.” ​

Since being jailed for life in 2015, Dwyer has successfully challenged the law under which his phone metadata was seized, securing rulings in his favour from the High Court, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU).

During his conviction appeal in December, his legal team sought a retrial because of the way his trial judge, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, decided to allow the metadata evidence to be put before the jury.

The metadata was important, as it helped establish a link between Dwyer and his victim, with whom he had been having a secret sadomasochistic relationship. Lawyers for the DPP said he murdered her for his sexual gratification.

Ms O’Hara (36), a vulnerable woman who had been receiving psychiatric care, went missing on August 22, 2012, having been last seen alive near Shanganagh Cemetery in Shankill that day. Her remains were found 13 months later in a forest at Killakee in the Dublin Mountains.

Using the 2011 Communications Act, gardaí obtained data associated with Dwyer’s work mobile phone and other handsets. Using cell-site analysis, they were able to pinpoint roughly where Dwyer was at certain points in time, based on the movements of his work phone.

This helped investigators establish his routine in the months prior to Ms O’Hara’s disappearance.