Michael Kelley, the American man charged with the 2025 murder of Kenmare farmer Michael Gaine, has been sent forward to the next sittings of the Central Criminal Court.
Kelley, 54, appeared before a sitting of Tralee District Court in Co Kerry on Wednesday morning, May 27.
A native of Belfast, Maine, the former US soldier has no fixed abode but most recently had an address in Tralee. He was formally charged on February 25 and has been in custody at Cork Prison.
Judge David Waters said on Wednesday that Kelley was before the court on a single charge on the indictment - murdering Michael Gaine, 56, between March 20 and March 21 last year at Carrig, Kenmare, Co Kerry.
Court presenter Sgt Chris Manton confirmed a book of evidence had been served on Kelley, and he applied for the matter to be returned to the next sittings of the Central Criminal Court.
Judge Waters granted the order and noted that bail was not a matter for the District Court in this case.
Kelley only spoke in the minutes-long hearing when Judge Waters asked him if he knew what an alibi is, to which Kelley said: "Yes, sir." The judge informed him that if he planned to rely on an alibi, he would have to disclose this to the prosecution within 14 days.
Kelley's solicitor Pat Mann applied for free legal aid with two counsel for his client, which was granted.
Michael Gaine's widow Janice, along with family and friends, was in court for the brief hearing on Wednesday morning.
The disappearance and homicide of Michael Gaine
56-year-old Michael Gaine was last seen in Kenmare town in Co Kerry on March 20 last year; he was reported missing the following day.
CCTV footage from March 20 showed him buying phone credit in Centra in Kenmare at 9:48 am. He then left in his bronze-colored RAV4, registration 152 KY 366, which was later found parked in his farmyard, just off the N71 at Carrig East.
CCTV footage of Michael Gaine. (An Garda Siochana)
On April 29, Gardaí officially reclassified their missing person investigation to a homicide investigation.
They said at the time that despite the extensive enquiries carried out until that point, Gaine's remains had not yet been recovered.
The day after Gaine's case was reclassified, his wife Janice and sister Noreen issued an emotional appeal for information.
"We just want Michael to come home," Janice said. "We want to know what happened to him."
On May 17, lands at Carrig East in Kenmare - where Gaine's farmyard is located - were declared a crime scene by Gardaí.
Later that day, An Garda Síochána confirmed that "partial human remains" had been found following preliminary examinations at the scene by State Pathologist Dr. Sally Anne Collis and Forensic Anthropologist Laureen Buckley, assisted by the Garda Technical Bureau.
Gardaí said that DNA analysis would be required to carry out formal identification of the recovered human remains.
The following day, Gardaí announced that a man in his 50s - Michael Kelley - had been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Gaine. However, the man was released without charge the following day. Kelley later confirmed to the Irish Mirror that he was the man who had been arrested and released.
Gardaí confirmed on May 27 that the human remains found at farmland at Carrig East in Kenmare were identified as being the remains of Michael Gaine.
A funeral for Gaine was held at Holy Cross Church in Kenmare on June 7. The day before the funeral, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the investigation into the disappearance and murder of Michael Gaine was set to be peer reviewed.
Kelley was again arrested in connection with Gaine's disappearance and homicide on February 24 this year. He appeared at Tralee District Court the following day, where he was charged with Gaine's murder.
This is the moment Michael Kelley left Tralee District Court charged with the murder of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine. pic.twitter.com/o6q5nkJPwf
— Radio Kerry (@radiokerry) February 25, 2026
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