A man accused of murdering a mother-of-two by striking her at least 14 times in the head with a lump hammer told gardaí he "saw red" and was in agony after she bit his private parts, the Central Criminal Court has heard.
John O'Neill (56), Mercer House flats, Mercer Street, Dublin, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter but not guilty to the murder of Rosemary Dowling (49) at his flat between October 24th and 25th last year. Her naked body was found wrapped in bedclothes near his flat in the early hours of Tuesday, October 25th.
Giving evidence on day two of the trial Det Garda Noel Sweeney told Mr Luan Ó Braonain BL that he interviewed Mr O'Neill who called to Harcourt Terrace Garda station voluntarily on Friday, October 28th and confessed to the killing.
Asked by gardaí whether he had had sex with the victim who came up to his flat for a drink, Mr O'Neill said no. However, asked if he had had oral sex he said: "She put me private in her mouth and bit it. She started punching me in the chest and arms and that's when I hit her with the hammer." He said Ms Dowling had got out of the bedroom where they were and into the hall and that was when he hit her. He said the hammer had been in a bag of tools by the side of the bed.
"I was in agony . . . She bit it and I seen red. It was sore and it still is sore," he told gardaí during the interview.
He said Ms Dowling had been facing him when he hit her in the head with the hammer. He said she went down on the ground. Asked if she was conscious at this stage he said no. He said he had dragged her into the spare bedroom where he had given her "another few smacks" with the hammer.
He said he then rolled her over into a sheet, two bedcovers and a duvet cover before tying cable around the sheets. He said he had put on an old pair of jeans after having a shower and pulled her outside the flats to the corner lane. He said: "I just left her there, I knew someone would find her."
Asked by gardaí whether he had used a knife on the victim's throat he said: "I don't remember the knife. When I hit her with the hammer, I just went blank." He admitted burning a chair, which had blood spots on it, outside the flat and had set fire to some clothes and the hammer.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy said Ms Dowling had died following a severe assault caused by blunt force trauma to the head. She had been struck at least 14 times with a heavy object with a small surface area. She said most of the blows appeared to have been struck while the victim was concussed, unconscious or immobilised.
Prof Cassidy said there was evidence of trauma to the opening and inside of the victim's vagina. She said this indicated forceful penetration.
Asked by Mr Brendan Grehan SC, defending, whether the attack had been frenzied Prof Cassidy said it had been sustained and "amounted to overkill". She said there was no evidence that clothes had been violently removed from the victim or taken off her body. Asked if the injuries to the victim's vagina could have been caused by an object, she said because of the bruising and grazing caused, she could not exclude this possibility.
Toxicology reports found Ms Dowling had blood alcohol of four times the legal driving limit.
Earlier, Det Supt PJ Browne gave evidence that she had previous convictions for breach of the peace and drunk and disorderly behaviour.
The trial continues today before Mr Justice Paul Carney.