A LIMERICK man charged with murdering another man in the city appeared "the same as usual" the day after the killing, the Central Criminal Court in Dublin was told yesterday.
Ms Emma Collins told the court, that Anthony Broderick was her boyfriend in September 1995. She said they had seen each other on September 4th, 1995, the day after James Doyle was shot dead at his home in O'Malley Park, Limerick. She said Mr Broderick appeared to be "the same as usual".
It was the second day of the trial of Mr Broderick (22), of O'Malley Park, Limerick, who is accused of murdering Mr Doyle (49), also of O'Malley Park, in the city on September 3rd, 1995.
In court yesterday Ms Collins told Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, prosecuting, that she could not recall what she and Mr Broderick had talked about when they met on September 4th, 1995. She believed it had been nothing, in particular. She had heard about the killing of James Doyle, but said she did not discuss it with Antony Broderick.
Mr Raymond Doyle (19), a son of the deceased man, told the jury he and his brother had been playing soccer with some friends on the green nearby on the night of the killing. On the way back he saw a silver or grey Charade car with three occupants. The light was on inside the car and he recognised all three occupants. One was Anthony Broderick, he said.
He told Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, defending, that he could not remember discussing the sighting of the car with anyone before his statement to the gardai. He had not signed the statement, he said, because he had been afraid.
Mr Doyle said that the area where the car was parked was lit, up by four spotlights hanging from a pole at the side of a house.
In a formal admission to the court Mr MacEntee said that his client accepted that, on September 3rd 1995, two people wearing balaclavas and carrying shotguns had approached the house in O'Malley Park where the deceased man was staying. One or other of these had fired a shot through the hall door and kicked the door in. The shot had hit James Doyle and he died soon afterwards.
Mr Justice Flood told the jury the admission did not carry any suggestion that the accused man was the cause of or was involved in, the events mentioned.
During evidence from Ms Collins the members of the jury were sent out while legal discussion took place. After about 30 minutes Mr Justice Flood told them that technical arguments would continue for the rest of the day. The jury of seven women and five men will hear further evidence in the case this morning.