Killer Graham Dwyer keeps a 'poker-face' in prison after EU court ruling boosts appeal chance

He was sentenced to life in 2015 for the murder of childcare worker Elaine O’Hara in 2012 to which he had pleaded not guilty.

Evidence was heard during his trial how his was sexually obsessed with stabbing a woman and had been in an abusive relationship with the vulnerable child-care worker.

It centred on text messages between the ‘slave and master’ phones found dumped in reservoir shortly after Ms O’Hara’s body was discovered in a forest in 2013.

Investigators were able to prove that on the day before the murder, Dwyer's work phone was at Killakee Mountain in south Dublin - the spot where he stabbed Ms O'Hara to death.

Known in the Midlands prison as an “odd fish” but a high-intelligent prisoner, he hasn’t shown any reaction to this week’s ruling which could boost his appeal against his conviction.

But Dwyer understands that his appeal is still not certain to succeed, and the EU court ruling may not necessarily be applied to past cases.

In the past, Dwyer had been fully confident of success and even bragged to fellow prisoners in 2018 he would be free by Christmas that year and planned which restaurant he would celebrate in.

Barrister Ronan Lupton, who also specialises in data laws, told the Sunday World earlier this week this is not a “home run for Dwyer”.

“Much turns on what the Supreme Court will do next because that's where the case is going.”

“But in answer to the question is Dwyer getting out immediately? The answer is No.”

In the meantime, Dwyer has been keeping himself busy working in the Midland Prison’s horticultural area growing vegetables.

As a trusted prisoner he has also been looking after birds and budgies and is allowed to cook his own meals in an area for trustees.

He was elevated to trusted prisoner status late last year at the prison where he has been incarcerated since 2015.

But he wasn’t always a model prisoner running into trouble in 2017 when memory sticks were discovered in his cell which contained pornography and a Star Wars film.

Dwyer had been granted permission to use a laptop to keep up with his legal cases.