Two teenagers accused of attacking Alex Coughlan, who died after being severely injured in Dublin in May, are to be tried for murder.
The 37-year-old was assaulted on Mill Road in Blanchardstown at about 4.20pm on May 17th. He was found unconscious.
Coughlan was brought to hospital in a critical condition and was pronounced dead on May 20th. A postmortem found that he suffered “traumatic” head and neck injuries.
Shortly after his death, gardaí charged two boys, aged 17 and 16, in connection with the incident.
READ MORE
They were originally accused of causing serious harm and with robbing Coughlan of his bank cards and a gold ring valued at €300. Neither accused had indicated a plea.
The boys, who cannot be named because they are juveniles, were previously refused bail and remain in the Oberstown Children Detention Campus.
The boys appeared separately before Judge Patricia Cronin at the Dublin Children’s Court on Monday. An interpreter was requested but not required, the judge noted.
In the case of the 17-year-old, Garda Alan Kernan told the court the accused’s assault causing harm charge was being withdrawn as it had been superseded with a murder charge. He said the boy “made no reply” when the charge was put to him on Monday. The robbery charge is to remain.
He said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed the teenager be tried in the Central Criminal Court.
The judge told the teenager that bail applications in murder cases must be dealt with by the High Court. He was remanded in custody pending the preparation of a book of evidence and is to appear before the court next week via video-link.
His mother was in the courtroom and the judge noted from defence solicitor Darren Gray that she had some English and he had explained the procedures to her. She hugged and kissed the teenager before he was taken back into custody.
The 16-year-old co-accused appeared remotely from Oberstown. Garda Shane Costello confirmed to defence solicitor Brian Keenan that the DPP had directed his client be tried for murder. He was remanded in continuing custody to appear in court again later this week.
The judge noted that the matter will fall under the juvenile protocol, a measure setting a strict 12-month time limit to complete the trial process from the date of the initial charge.
An earlier bail hearing was told that Alex Coughlan had injuries to his neck area and scrapes to his knees and elbows, which corroborated that he was on his knees pleading with his attacker. He had “no defensive injuries”. Coughlan suffered severe bruising and there was evidence of alleged suffocation and choking.
Garda Sgt Emma Ryan agreed it was a sustained assault. She said a small snippet of footage, taken from the 16-year-old boy’s phone, was available. She said the clip “showed the deceased on his knees begging for his life”.
The court heard it was an arranged meeting but set up under false pretences for the purpose of committing robbery and extortion offences.
Ryan said Coughlan was walking down the road and the two accused blocked him. The court heard he was punched and he fell. He tried to run away but was pursued and received kicks and punches.
Coughlan’s AIB and Revolut cards were used in local shops minutes later and a gold ring his father gave him was taken and worn by the younger defendant, it was claimed.
Ryan said the 16-year-old accused still had the ring on him at the time of his arrest on May 19th. She said she was concerned that the teenager considered the deceased prey, and his number was saved on the co-accused youth’s phone as “Prey 2″.
