Prosecution and defence counsel in the trial of a Cork man for murder yesterday made closing addresses to the jury in the Central Criminal Court.
Mr William "Buster" Carroll (52), of no fixed address, denies the murder of Mr Thomas Harte (40), of Allen's Square, Ballymacthomas, Cork, at a disused house on Leitrim Street in the north of the city, between May 19th and 20th, 1997.
Mr Denis Vaughan-Buckley, for the DPP, said the jury could infer from 67 external injuries on Mr Harte's body that the attacker intended to kill or cause serious injury. If the accused man's involvement was proved, the jury could convict him of murder.
Egging on and encouraging another man to viciously assault the deceased man was "sufficient as a matter of law to convict the accused of murder," Mr Vaughan-Buckley said.
Revising evidence given by prosecution witness Mr Michael Flynn, Mr Vaughan-Buckley said he told the court he witnessed the accused assaulting Mr Harte and encouraging another man to assault him. He said that despite the appearance that he was a "wino", Mr Flynn told the court Mr Harte had been an epileptic, which was true, and this gave credibility to the witness.
Another witness, Mr Paddy Crowley, previously told the court that the accused told him he "jumped on (Mr Harte's) head to finish him off," Mr Vaughan-Buckley said.
Defence counsel, Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, said the accused was a "Christian" man who invited Mr Harte into whatever shelter he had, thinking he was homeless. He said witness Mr Michael Flynn was the "linchpin" of the prosecution case.
Mr O'Carroll said Mr Flynn was an unreliable witness whose testimony was "undermined by a prior inconsistent statement".
Mr O'Carroll said another man present in the house that night was the "main participant in the attack".
He said Mr Flynn was "anything but a credible and reliable witness".
Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster had previously told the court that Mr Harte had been bludgeoned with a blunt instrument crushing facial bones and causing him severe bleeding.
The court heard there was extensive blood splattered on the walls of the living-room where Mr Harte's body was found.
Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness will charge the jury of eight women and four men today before sending them away to consider their verdict.