Man and woman found guilty of murdering Robert Wilkin

A man and woman have been found guilty of murdering a 66-year-old man who was “alive or dead” when he was thrown over cliffs along the Wild Atlantic Way.

Alan Vial, 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal and Nikita Burns, 23, from An Charraig, County Donegal, both denied the murder of Robert Wilkin, who was also known as Robin, on 25 June 2023.

The body of the County Tyrone man was found eight days later in the sea at the foot of Slieve League cliffs.

His body was found following a search involving gardaí (Irish police), the Donegal Mountain Rescue Team and the Irish Coastguard.

The trial had previously heard Vial and Burns and Mr Wilkin had been drinking at various bars on the night of the murder.

CCTV footage shown during the trial showed a car travelling from McIntyre’s Bar in Dunkineely to Roshine, which a prosecutor said was most likely the place where Mr Wilkin was assaulted.

The court heard that Mr Wilkin was hit over the head with a rock, causing him to stop breathing, before his body was taken to the cliffs and pushed off.

The prosecution argued that Ms Burns and Mr Vial acted together as a joint enterprise, meaning they were both equally responsible, regardless of who struck the fatal blow.

During the trial, the two accused each other of the murder.

The pair had been in a brief relationship in the time leading up to the killing of Mr Wilkin, the trial heard.

Vial, who was described by his barrister as “a petty criminal and an alcoholic”, had pleaded not guilty to the murder.

Burns, who the court heard had “a difficult upbringing”, also pleaded not guilty to murder, but she pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another person for an arrestable offence.

Mr Wilkin’s body was discovered following a huge land, sea and air search along the County Donegal coastline involving search and rescue helicopters, boats, drones, the Irish defence forces, and a large number of people from local communities.

The search began after a car in which the two killers were travelling crashed the evening after the victim was murdered and Vial was arrested for drink driving.

The crash and Vial’s arrest, along with admissions made by Burns to friends that evening, quickly led to a major police operation at the cliffs.

After a lengthy trial which began in January, the jury took just over eight-and-a-half hours across three days to reach their verdicts.

The seven woman and five men found both Vial and Burns guilty of murder.