The driver of the car in which Melanie McCarthy-McNamara (16) was shot dead says was in shock afterwards and drove at speed to the nearest hospital.

Daniel McDonnell of Brookview Lawns, Tallaght in Dublin is accused of the murder in a drive-by shooting in February 2012.

Melanie was shot once in the head as she sat in a parked car with her boyfriend Christy Moran and Sean Byrne, who was the driver.

The court heard how a jeep pulled up beside the car, which was parked outside a house at Brookview Way.

A neighbour who was driving through the estate at the time says she saw a flash and heard two shots coming from the driver's side of the jeep.

Mr. Byrne told the court he did not realise Melanie was injured until he sped off in the direction of the jeep.

When he saw her choking on the back seat, he sped to Tallaght Hospital where she lost his fight for life a short time later.

A woman who lived at the house at Brookview Way told the trial she also heard two bangs and gave evidence of a brick being thrown at her home on the same evening.

Yesterday lawyers for the State said they would be relying on two letters allegedly written by the accused while in custody and some graffiti scribbled on a cell where he was being held after his arrest.

The prosecution claims McDonnell boasts about Melanie's murder in the three pieces of evidence.