Man charged with 'cliffs' murder remanded in custody for book of evidence
A Within Newspix (pictured) With The 25, Robert File Murder Of June At Wilkin 2023, Vial Picture: Place Been Alan The On Nw Has State Charged Unknown
A man charged with the murder of another man whose body was found off cliffs in Co. Donegal after a week-long search has been remanded in custody to allow for a book of evidence to be served in his case.
Alan Vial, 38, appeared by videolink at Letterkenny District Court on Thursday. Vial, from Drumanoo Head, Killybegs has been charged with the murder of Robert Wilkin on June 25, 2023, at a place unknown within the State.
It followed a large-scale search involving Gardaí, the Irish Coastguard and other agencies including the Donegal Mountain Rescue team.
Mr Wilkin's remains were found in the water on July 3 following the search for his remains at the popular tourism destination.
Vial's solicitor, Mr Patsy Gallagher, asked for the case to be adjourned until September 4 to allow for a book of evidence to be served on his client.
Wearing a grey sweatshirt, Vial spoke briefly when asked if he was happy with the remand in custody, saying: "Yes, I am."
Mr Gallagher added that there are also summary matters for Mr Vial but that they are of a different nature. He also told Mr Vial that he will be in touch for a consultation with his legal counsel.
The discovery of Mr Wilkin's remains followed a tip-off to Gardaí that a serious assault had taken place and an investigation was launched.
A full post-mortem examination has been carried out on Mr Wilkin's remains but Gardaí have not released the results for operational reasons.