Defendant told gardaí victim was holding bat that killed him

A man on trial charged with murdering another man with a baseball bat told gardai that the alleged victim’s head injury was caused by the baseball bat the deceased was holding himself.

The trial also heard that the man struck with a bat that day died in hospital a month later due to a severe, traumatic brain injury.

The Central Criminal Court trial has already heard that the fight between the two men with the bats on October 10th, 2013 on Main Street, Swords was witnessed by several people.

Jooda Akanbi (39) is charged with intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to 45-year-old Taiwo Jamani on that occasion. He is also charged with murdering his fellow Nigerian on November 13th, 2013, the date of his death in Beaumont Hospital.

Mr Akanbi of Ashton Avenue, Applewood in Swords has pleaded not guilty to both charges. He says his actions were in self defence.

The jury heard memos of garda interviews carried out with the accused. Mr Akanbi told gardai, “I used my hand to hit the baseball bat and the baseball bat he was holding hit him in the head.”

Detective Garda James Tracey testified on Friday that Mr Jamani was lying on the ground and Mr Akanbi was standing nearby when he arrived to the scene of the fight on October 10th.

He said Mr Akanbi told him that he had been taking a bag out of his boot when the injured man began assaulting him with his hands. He said Mr Jamani then grabbed a baseball bat out of Mr Akanbi’s boot, and that the accused took another bat out of the boot and hit Mr Jamani over the head with it.

The detective said he arrested the accused at 12.40pm on suspicion of assault causing harm. He said Mr Akanbi made further admissions en route to Coolock Garda Station, concluding by saying: ‘“It’s self defence, sir’”.

Garda Tracey said that Mr Akanbi was then interviewed four times. He said in his first interview that he and Mr Jamani had a falling out a year earlier but said he had forgotten all about it until that day.

“I didn’t have a beef with him or anything like that,” he said.

In his second interview, he said he had not hit Mr Jamani with the baseball bat in his head.

“I used my hand to hit the baseball bat and the baseball bat he was holding hit him in the head,” he said.

The court had earlier heard from Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis, who carried out an autopsy on the body of Mr Jamani following his death.

Dr Curtis said he found an area of shattered bone on the top of Mr Jamani’s skull and further fractures radiating out from that into the base of the skull.

He was asked about the level of force necessary to cause such an injury.

“That’s considerable or severe force,” he replied.

He gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head with severe, traumatic brain injury.

The jury was also shown two baseball bats recovered from the scene on the afternoon of the fight. One bat was retrieved from underneath Mr Akanbi’s BMW 5 Series, while the second bat was found inside his car.

The trial continues.