A man (45) has been remanded in custody for sentence tomorrow after he was today convicted of the murder of a young man he killed in a flat in Cork city before dumping his body on waste ground in Co Kerry.
John Walsh, a native of Carrigmore Park in Ballinlough in Cork city but with an address at Cork Street, Mitchelstown, had denied the murder of John McManus (25) at Mr McManus's flat at Verdon Place, Wellington Road, Cork, between October 28th and November 7th, 2008.
But on the 28th day of the trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork, the jury of five men and six women found Walsh guilty of the charge following three hours and 44 minutes of deliberations.
Sitting alone in the dock, Walsh showed no emotion as the verdict was read out, and Mr Justice Paul Carney remanded him in custody for sentence today and requested the preparation of a victim impact statement from Mr McManus's family.
A native of Fermoy in north Cork, Mr McManus was living in Cork city at the time of his death, and his family became concerned when he failed to respond to phone calls on October 31st. When gardaí gained entry to his flat, they found blood stains in all the rooms.
A week later on November 6th, gardaí discovered Mr McManus's body dumped on waste ground near Ballyduff in north Kerry after Garda Dan O'Connor, on a routine patrol, spotted a car driven by Walsh acting suspiciously in the area.
During the trial, Walsh took the witness box and admitted assaulting Mr McManus with the leg or arm of chair during a drunken row in his flat, claiming he only hit him because he feared Mr McManus was going to attack him with a knife.
"He went to sleep on the bed. I slept on the couch. I went in to call him in the morning. He didn't wake up. I couldn't believe it. I checked his pulse, and I checked his breathing. I just got a fright of my life. He was grand and I going to sleep. He was perfect before that.
"I got a panic attack. I put him under the bed. I ran out the door. I got heroin and got stoned for a few days. . . . I didn't want to leave him under the bed. I was thinking I can't leave him there, I'll put him in the car. I'll put him on the beach, he'll be found on the beach."
"I am heart-broken over my friend, I cannot understand how he died, I wasn't hitting him that hard . . . when I look in the mirror, I can see John as well, it's not just myself anymore. I'm going to have to live with this for the rest of my life. I still can't believe it," he said.
Walsh's girlfriend, Gillian Purcell (34) originally from Hollyville, Hollyhill in Cork but with an address c/o the Simon Community, Cork, was also charged with Mr McManus's murder but was acquitted last week by the direction of the trial judge.