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Prosecutors will present their case against a Mainer accused of an Irish farmer’s slaying and dismemberment.
Next Wednesday prosecutors will present the book of evidence to 53-year-old Michael Kelley at Tralee District Court, according to the Irish Independent.
The book of evidence is effectively the prosecutors’ case against him. It includes a statement of charges, witness statements, exhibits and other supplementary evidence. Under Irish law, the target for presenting the book of evidence to the defense is 42 days, though it can take much longer for more complex cases.
That marks a crucial step in the Irish legal system for a case to go to trial.
Kelley was arrested in February, nearly a year after the disappearance of 56-year-old Michael Gaine, who was last seen alive on March 20, 2025, in a local shopping center, according to An Garda Síochána, the Irish national police and security service. He was reported missing the next day.
Police made a grisly discovery on May 16, 2025, when Gaine’s dismembered remains were found in a slurry spreader on his farm after the machine jammed. His DNA was found in nearby fields, where the slurry was spread.
Police detained a suspect in his 50s on May 18, 2025, but released him the next day without charge.
Although Irish police didn’t publicly identify the suspect at the time, Kelley told numerous Irish media outlets that he was the suspect questioned in Gaine’s disappearance, but denied any involvement in his death. Instead, he proposed a slew of theories that organized crime was involved and that he was being framed.
Before Gaine’s death and disappearance, Kelley had been living in Ireland for seven years, including three years on Gaine’s 1,000-acre farm in Carrig East in Kenmare, where Kelley lived in exchange for working the land.
Before moving across the Atlantic, Kelley lived in Waldo County, according to the Irish Times.
Kelley was a private in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany as a guard. He later left the military as a conscientious objector during the first Gulf War, according to the Irish Mirror.
Kelley will appear in person with his attorney, Pat Mann, Wednesday to receive the book of evidence. He has been jailed since his arrest.
BDN writer Kasey Turman contributed to this report.
