A Garda witness has described to a jury the moment she found the body of a 79-year-old widower, who had been "severely beaten" to the point where he was "unrecognisable".
A witness also told the Central Criminal Court murder trial on Thursday that murder accused Thomas Lorigan told him that he had a row with his uncle the night before the body was found.
Mr Lorigan (34), of no fixed abode, has pleaded not guilty to murdering John O'Neill (79) at St Brendan’s Road, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare on a date unknown between January 6th and 7th, 2022.
The trial has heard that Mr Lorigan was known by the nickname 'Mossy' in the Clare area and was the deceased's nephew. The trial has heard that Mr O'Neill, who lived alone, had run a bed and breakfast at his home along with his wife, who passed away in the summer of 2021.
It is the prosecution's case that the pensioner died after a vicious attack by his nephew, who they submit had repeatedly kicked him to the head while wearing steel-capped boots.
Giving evidence on Thursday, Garda Louise Keogh told Eilis Brennan SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, that she was on duty at 8.06 am on January 7th when she received a call to check the welfare of the owner of O'Neills B&B due to an altercation the previous night.
The garda said there was no answer at the front door of the house but could see a light on in the kitchen area when she walked through an archway towards the back of the house. Her colleague Garda Sarah Tubbert attempted to open a side door with a set of keys but had no luck.
'Lifeless, severely beaten'
When Gda Keogh looked through frosted glass at the back of the house she could see a person lying on the ground. She found a man lying on the ground when they gained entry by breaking a window. "He was lifeless, severely beaten and there was blood at the top around his head. The man was unrecognisable and there was a broken vase beside his head," she said.
She said cards were scattered on the floor beside the body, including a PPS card.
The next witness Gda Tubbert said she found a set of dentures on the footpath with blood on them and that there was a pool of blood inside the archway.
Paramedic Melissa Power said she had climbed through a window into the kitchen area on the morning of January 7th and found a body lying on the ground with very obvious facial injuries and quite a lot of blood. She confirmed the man's death at 9.15 am.
Garda Paul Crowley told the jury that a laptop and vase were retrieved close to the deceased's head in the kitchen. He said there were broken picture frames and broken glass in another room in the house.
Squatting
Walter Burke (56) told Ms Brennan that he lived alone in Lisdoonvarna and got to know the accused man - whom he knew as 'Mossy' - in a local pub in the weeks leading up to Christmas in 2021.
"It was a chance meeting and talking or whatever. I thought he was a guy down on his luck," said the witness.
The witness said that 'Mossy' told him that he was "squatting" in a house "out the road". Mr Burke said he washed the accused's clothes on occasion and knew that the defendant had no electricity or cooking facilities where he lived. "He would charge his phone in my house as he had no electricity," he added.
Mr Burke said the accused occasionally came to his home and had stayed the night at least three times.
The witness said the accused stayed in his house on January 5th and they had a few drinks together on the following day, January 6th. He said they had taken turns to go to the local Spar to buy wine.
The witness said the accused left his house at one point on the night of January 6th. "He would go for a walk and come back, I didn't read anything into it".
Mr. Burke said the defendant returned to his house before midnight and told him that he had "a row with somebody". "I didn't pay much attention to it, I thought it was an argument and that was it," said the witness.
Mr Burke said he asked the accused who the row was with and explained to the jury that this was when he "discovered" it was with Mr O'Neill. He said 'Mossy' didn't give him a reason for the row and that he did not know until then that Mr O'Neill was the accused's uncle.
The witness said he knew Mr O'Neill as he would have walked by his house every day when going into the village. "He was always out and about; a friendly character".
Asked by Ms Brennan whether Mr Lorigan had described the row, the witness said his interpretation was that the pair had words. "I just thought an argument, I honestly didn't read anymore into it" [sic].
Stains
The witness told counsel he hadn't noticed anything about the accused's jeans that night but "in hindsight" had seen stains or "scuffs" on them the following morning.
Mr Burke said he slept downstairs on the couch that night and that 'Mossy' had gone upstairs to bed.
The witness said during the night the accused mentioned to him that he felt the row "was more serious than he first told me" and that somebody could be hurt.
Mr Burke said the next morning after "a third conversation about it" he began to think that the row was more serious than he had originally thought, that Mr O’Neill might be hurt and need medical help. The witness rang the emergency services when the accused went upstairs.
Mr Burke left his house at 9 am that morning and saw the Gardaí and emergency services outside Mr O'Neill's home. "I went over to Gardaí and introduced myself and said it was me who made the call". He also told Gardaí that the accused was in his house.
Asked again by prosecution counsel what the accused had told him, the witness said: "Mossy said it was a more serious row than he originally thought; that's what I interpreted from him".
Under cross-examination, Mr Burke told Michael Bowman SC, defending Mr Lorigan, that he was an alcoholic but had not drunk in two years. He said that at the time he had been drinking since the morning of January 6th but had not drunk to excess as he was coming off a binge.
Mr. Bowman put it to the witness that Mr Lorigan hadn't arrived at his house until before midnight on January 6th and was not in his house during the day. The witness disagreed with this.
The defence barrister said the accused's instructions were that no conversations took place with Mr. Burke that night or the following morning. The witness disagreed with the barrister.
Mr Bowman further put it to the witness that his client would say he never wore a pair of jeans or boots found at the house. Mr Burke replied that as long as he knew Mossy he had always worn those boots.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of five men and seven women.
Alison O'Riordan
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