A former Army Ranger and former monitor in Iraq stabbed to death an 18-month-old infant by slashing the baby's neck so forcibly the cervical bone was cut, it was alleged in the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
Mr John Reilly (32), of Crooksling, Brittas, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Oisín Reilly-Murphy at Kiltalown Road, Jobstown, Tallaght, Co Dublin on June 5th, 2000.
The prosecution claims the accused murdered the infant, the son of his cousin, after a night's drinking at a relative's house where he and the child's parents stayed overnight.
In his opening speech, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, prosecuting, said Mr Reilly was on good terms with the child's parents, Gráinne Murphy and Thomas Reilly, and there was no apparent motive for the murder.
"We don't know why he did what we allege he did, which was the killing of this infant child," counsel told the court.
The jury was told that the accused left the Army in 1993 and was employed by an agency in a specialised security area "monitoring matters in Iraq".
He returned to Dublin on leave on May 21st, 2000. He met his first cousin, Hugh Reilly, Oisín's uncle, and socialised with him on a number of occasions up to the time of the killing on the June Bank Holiday weekend.
On Sunday, June 4th, Gráinne Murphy, Thomas Reilly and baby Oisín arrived at Kiltalown Road to spend the evening with Siobhán and Hugh Reilly (Thomas Reilly's brother) and their three children. There was a lot of drink consumed over the evening, including cider, beer and whiskey, Mr Sammon told the jury.
At 11.30 p.m. or midnight, the accused arrived at the house and joined in the drinking and card playing in the kitchen.
Ms Murphy put the baby down for the night on a makeshift bed on the sitting room sofa before retiring to an upstairs bedroom at around 3 a.m.
At 8.30 a.m., Ms Murphy came downstairs looking for Oisín.
She saw Mr Reilly asleep on the armchair and then saw the baby, lying face down on the accused's right hand side.
When she picked him up she noticed dried blood near one of his ears and on his face and he appeared cold, Mr Sammon told the jury.
She then saw what appeared to be a silver, fold-up knife, similar to a Swiss army knife on the floor.
When the gardaí arrived, they found the accused man sitting on the stairs sobbing.
There were blood stains on his left hand and on the upper part of his jeans, the court heard. The bottom of his jeans was heavily blood stained.
The accused said he "does not know what happened" and could not remember, Mr Sammon told the jury.
The trial continues today.