A man accused of murder swung a toaster by its cord, striking another man around the head, a jury in the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.
Mr William Carroll (51), of no fixed abode, has denied the murder of Mr Thomas Harte (40), of Allen's Square, Ballymacthomas, Cork, at a disused house in the north of the city on May 19th-20th, 1997.
In re-examination by prosecution counsel, Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, Sgt David Foley, of Gurranabraher Garda station, said an alleged witness, Mr Michael Flynn, told gardai he saw Mr Carroll strike Mr Harte with a toaster which he swung from its cord.
"It was the most frightening thing I ever saw," the Garda notes of the interview stated.
Mr Flynn allegedly told gardai that after witnessing a death in a disused house in the north of the city, he wanted to tell what happened. "I have to live with this."
Another man was "hitting Thomas Harte over the head with a bottle. Buster was egging him on that this was the man that was there when the other man's father was killed," in a pub in 1987, the notes said. "The man kept hitting him over the head with a bottle. We were shouting to stop. Buster said `You go away and keep out of it', and the [other] fellow said `Shut up, you'."
Sgt Gerard Corbett told the court that during an interview Mr Carroll allegedly told gardai he was innocent of the murder and would curse them if convicted.
The trial before Ms Justice McGuinness continues today.