An “incredibly kind” man died in circumstances of “almost indescribable savagery”, a barrister has told a Central Criminal Court jury.
Prosecution counsel Dean Kelly on Tuesday opened the trial of Liam O’Leary (33), who denies murdering John Casserly (58) at a Peter McVerry Trust-operated housing complex on Tone Street, Ballina, Co Mayo, between October 23rd and 24th, 2024.
Kelly told the jury of nine men and three women that the deceased was born in Wigan, England, in 1965 to parents from Co Mayo. The family moved to Knock in 1983.
Casserly later moved to the US for about 15 years but returned to Co Mayo and settled in Ballina in 2014. He was living at Tone House, an apartment building operated by the Peter McVerry Trust charity.
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He did not know the accused until a few weeks before his death, Kelly said. They struck up a friendship and when O’Leary needed a place to stay, Casserly took him into his one-bedroom apartment.
The day leading up to Casserly’s death was “unextraordinary”, counsel said, but neighbours heard arguing coming from the apartment that evening. At about 11.45pm, O’Leary knocked on a neighbour’s door, followed a short time later by Casserly.
Matters then became “fraught”, counsel said, and the neighbour fled out on to the street.
Kelly said that what happened next was that Casserly “met his death in circumstances of almost indescribable savagery”.
When gardaí breached the door of the apartment at about 12.50am, they found Casserly naked on the ground, lying face up, with O’Leary standing over him, clothed.
Casserly had been stabbed 27 times, including on both sides of the chest, in the abdomen, neck, left eye, genitals and anus. He had suffered multiple blunt force and incised wounds to his trunk, arms and legs, the jury was told.
His left eye had been removed by a combination of blunt and sharp force and all the bones on the left side of his face were fractured.
State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers removed a blade that was inserted through Casserly’s mouth into the bony part of the palate and the base of his skull.
Kelly said the pathologist would tell the trial that Casserly died from multiple sharp-force injuries along with blunt force trauma.
Counsel called on the jury to set prejudice, outrage and sympathy aside. He said it would be normal and natural, considering the evidence of “serious sexual violence”, to have the “most profound sympathy for John Casserly and his family”.
It would also, he added, be normal to have sympathy for O’Leary, sitting in “as lonely a seat as you could imagine”.
However, he said their job will be to consider the evidence coldly and dispassionately without prejudice or sympathy.
Later, Katrina Hennegan told Kelly that Casserly was a “great friend”, whom she would visit five days a week. On the afternoon preceding his death, she visited his home where she met Gabriela Jaworska and O’Leary.
She said this was her first time meeting O’Leary, who was “talking a mile a minute”. She heard him say that the council should get him a house because his mother had f***ed him over for years.
She also heard him saying he would kill himself and insulting Jaworska, who twice told him to “shut up”. The witness said O’Leary seemed to be “ranting and raving and very angry”.
Hennegan also recalled Casserly and Jaworska smoking a joint of marijuana but she could not remember if O’Leary had done so.
Under cross examination, Hennegan told defence counsel Michael Bowman that she got to know Casserly through a club for people with mental issues. He was “incredibly kind”, she said, had a wonderful sense of humour and went out of his way for his friends.
Jaworska told the court Casserly was a good friend and they would go swimming together once a week. They had done this earlier on the day that Casserly died and returned to his home afterwards. She said they would normally play chess but could not because O’Leary was “always talking” even though nobody was listening.
Jaworska agreed with Bowman that she knew O’Leary had a mental illness but she did not know the nature of his diagnosis.
She agreed that she could see he was unwell from the way he behaved that day. She further agreed that she had shared a joint with Casserly.
The trial continues before the jury and Judge Melanie Greally.
