Murder accused ‘prays daily’ for man found in refuse chute, court hears

A man charged with the murder of a homeless man told gardaí that people were more likely to feel sorry for the family of the deceased than for him.

David O'Loughlin (28), of Garden City Apartments, North Main Street in Cork, denies the murder of Liam Manley (59) at Garden City Apartments on May 12th, 2013.

“One has to feel more sorry for them (Mr Manley’s family) than for me,” said Mr O’Loughlin in the course of an interview with gardaí following his arrest for the murder.

Asked by detectives if he had murdered Mr Manley’s whose body was found down a refuse chute at the apartment, Mr O’Loughlin replied: “No, that is not what happened.”

“I never had intentions to kill anyone in my entire life,” he said, adding that he “profusely disagreed” with a suggestion by interviewing detectives that he was a murderer.

When gardaí put it to Mr O’Loughlin that he had never expressed any regret about what had happened to Mr Manley, he replied: “I never said for one second I wasn’t sorry.”

The jury of five men and seven women at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork had heard that Mr O'Loughlin met Mr Manley in the early hours of May 12th, 2013.

They were shown CCTV footage of one of the last images of Mr Manley alive in which Mr O’Loughlin is seen sharing chips with him from McDonald’s on Daunt Square in Cork.

During interviews when he was asked what happened to Mr Manley, Mr O’Loughlin said that he had been drinking and taking drugs and he couldn’t recall properly.

“I don’t know how he (Mr Manley) got into the apartment - I don’t know what he was doing there. I want to answer your questions but I was fairly hammered,” he said.

“I don’t know if I assaulted him or he assaulted me - there was an argument between me and Liam Manley - I can’t recall (what it was over).”

Mr O’Loughlin confirmed he was “100 per cent certain” that two other men who were in the apartment at the time had nothing to do with Mr Manley ending up in the refuse chute.

Asked about throwing a person down a refuse chute, Mr O’Loughlin told interviewing gardaí “whatever one’s excuse may be, one will never justify something like that.”

Asked if he would not like for the Manley family to get closure, Mr O’Loughlin replied “they will get closure” and he later told gardaí “there will be answers but not on your terms”.

“All the truth will come out - I am not lying or denying anything,” said Mr O’Loughlin before later telling gardaí he could not explain how Mr Manley’s DNA ended up in his apartment.

The trial had previously heard from witness, David O’Mahony that Mr O’Loughlin had started calling Mr Manley “a paedophile and a kiddy fiddler” when they were drinking.

Det Sgt Shane Bergin put it to Mr O'Loughlin in interview that he had not only taken Mr Manley's life but he had also blackened his name with such false comments.

Gardaí had looked into Mr Manley’s background and were satisfied that he was not a paedophile and to slander him in this way was a terrible thing to do, said Det Sgt Bergin.

“Not only did you take his life, you took his good name. They are the only words (the paedophile comment ) that will come out. That is a horrible thing to say about someone,” said Det Sgt Bergin.

“There were reasons for that thing. However, it is wrong to say that,” said Mr O’Loughlin before denying that he had effectively said Mr Manley was “trash” by his comments.

Det Sgt. Bergin said,”Tell us what happened ,,, it is time the why came out – why did Liam Manley have to leave the world so horribly, so alone? Did you say a prayer for him?”

“I have said a prayer for him every day… The jigsaw puzzle will be finished and the truth will come out,” said Mr O’Loughlin in reply.

The case continues.