A 24-YEAR-OLD Dublin man has been sentenced to life in prison, after being found guilty of the murder of a Wexford man on Easter Sunday morning two years ago.
Stephen Delaney of Belclare Grove, Ballymun admitted unlawfully killing 37-year-old Anthony Cullen by stabbing him in the back three times at Burmah Caravan Park, Rosslare on April 8th, 2007.
However, he pleaded not guilty to his murder during his trial in the Central Criminal Court, insisting that Mr Cullen’s friend, Aidan Duggan, had provoked him to such an extent that he lost control.
He claimed he then stabbed the wrong man due to poor lighting in the caravan park. Post mortem results showed both lungs were punctured as was the liver, leading to death.
The jury of seven men and five women took two hours and 23 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict. They had been given the option of finding him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
The seven-day trial heard that Delaney had been staying in a friend’s mobile home in the seaside town for a few weeks. He and some Dublin friends began drinking there around 4pm on Easter Saturday.
Later that night, the owner of the mobile home brought some Wexford people to join them. Most of these, including the deceased, were already drunk.
Throughout the night, much more alcohol was drunk and ecstasy and cannabis were shared among some of those present. The accused told gardaí he smoked two joints and drank eight cans, two litres of cider and a couple of glasses of vodka by the time of the stabbing.
Post mortem results showed that Mr Cullen had consumed no drugs, but had a blood alcohol level of 460mg, almost six times the limit for drink driving.
There was evidence from a number of witnesses that Mr Duggan repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on Mr Cullen’s head inside the caravan. A number of witnesses said that he had been asked to stop, that he often did stop and both men would hug each other before the violence would erupt again.
There was also evidence that, once outside, a friend of the accused began hitting an already injured Mr Cullen with a brush. It was not known if Mr Cullen’s head was bleeding as a result of the beatings by Mr Duggan or from falling out of the caravan, but it was serious enough that Delaney called an ambulance.
There was evidence that Mr Duggan became annoyed when he saw his friend being beaten with the brush and told the Dubliners that this was not how things were done in Wexford.
Mr Duggan then led Mr Cullen away, walking a few steps ahead of him. Delaney went into the caravan, knocked back a glass of vodka, got a knife, followed the Wexford men and stabbed Mr Cullen in the back three times.
He could not explain to gardaí why he had attacked the most defenceless person there while he was leaving the scene. However, his defence barrister claimed it was a mistake and that he had meant to stab Mr Duggan.