A DUBLIN man described a row in which a man stabbed and injured him and killed his friend, in the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
James Carroll (32) was giving evidence in the trial of Martin Toland (36) of Walkinstown Park, Dublin.
Mr Toland has pleaded not guilty to murdering Alan Nolan (28) and seriously injuring Mr Carroll at Cedarbrook Walk, Ballyfermot.
Mr Toland claims that he was acting in self-defence against both of the men at Mr Nolan’s home on the morning of September 8th, 2007.
Mr Carroll was asked about prank phone calls and text messages.
He agreed with Diarmaid McGuinness SC, defending, that he made dozens of phone calls to Mr Nolan that morning, while all three were socialising in Mr Nolan’s living room.
The apprentice electrician agreed that a row between Mr Nolan and Mr Toland and the subsequent stabbings all happened shortly after his last call to Mr Nolan at 5.47am.
He had already said that Mr Nolan’s sister had been receiving prank calls, but did not remember Mr Nolan suggesting who might have been behind them.
He also said that Mr Nolan had been sending and receiving numerous texts on the night and morning of the killing.
Mr Carroll agreed that the constant texts interrupted their video game and that he asked Mr Nolan to “knock off” his phone.
He said Mr Nolan did not say who the texts were from but Mr Carroll believed that it was phone contact with Mr Nolan’s ex-girlfriend that led to the altercation with Mr Toland.
Mr Carroll agreed that he had later been “surreptitiously phoning Mr Nolan” and then cutting him off from the mobile phone in his pocket.
He agreed that he had turned off his caller ID and that the calls he was making were winding up Mr Nolan.
“I think I was distracting him, playing a game,” he said.
“At the end, he knew it was me,” he claimed.
He said he did not remember Mr Nolan telling Mr Toland that his sister was behind the calls.
He also did not remember Mr Toland saying that the falling out was between their sisters and that it should not affect their friendship.
He agreed that the row between the defendant and the deceased had stemmed from a series of phone calls.
However Mr Carroll said that his calls to the deceased did not lead to the physical incident.
The trial has heard that Mr Nolan died of multiple stab wounds.
Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis, who also gave evidence yesterday, said the deceased sustained five stab wounds that morning.
He said that the fatal wound was through the heart.
He examined the blood-stained knife that Mr Toland pointed out to gardaí at the scene.
He said this, or a similar knife, could have caused Mr Nolan’s wounds.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Barry White and a jury of seven women and five men.