A man who stabbed his friend to death six days after arriving in the country from Lithuania was convicted of manslaughter in the Central Criminal Court today.
Donatus Sutkus (23), of no fixed abode, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Andrius Zakarauskas (26) in a drink-fuelled row at St Joseph's Villas in Dublin on the November 20th, 2004.
Mr Sutkus had admitted killing the deceased man to gardaí when they first arrested him. When asked by Det Gda Gerry McDonnell if he understood why he was being arrested, Mr Sutkus replied: "I kill man. How many years will I get?"
Later he told gardaí his actions were in self-defence.
In the hours leading up to the row, the two men had been drinking and watching films with other people at a relative's flat, off North Circular Road in Dublin.
Defence counsel, Erwan Mill-Arden SC, said the case was hampered by the absence of a witness who had been present when the row broke out.
The only other witness was the victim's relative, Mr Roman Cernenko, who told the court that he felt pressurised to give evidence in favour of the deceased man.
Mr Cernenko said he did not notice anything strange that night until his cousin began shouting at Mr Sutkus, asking him who the biggest "Don", or crime boss, was.
He also told the court his cousin had been in prison in Lithuania and that his drug problem had been so bad that the victim's parents had to sell their family home.
Mr Sutkus agreed with the evidence given by Mr Cernenko. However, he said he couldn't remember what they were arguing about.
Mr Sutkus said the victim was a "dangerous man," who always carried a knife with him in his sock. "He always said a knife was his best friend," he said.
During the trial, Mr Sutkus told the court that he had been close with the victim when they were younger, as they were from the same town. Later they drifted apart but later met again before coming to Ireland.
Det Gda McDonnell told the court that when they located Mr Sutkus in Mullingar, he was under a blanket in the back of his car. He arrested him, adding that he was co-operative.
It took the jury of seven men and five women just under four hours to reach a majority verdict of 11 to one. Mr Justice Paul Carney remanded Mr Sutkus in custody and adjourned sentence until the 17th of July.