A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering two Polish mechanics by stabbing them in their heads with a screw driver.
Pawel Kalite (28) and Marius Szwajkos (27) died after being stabbed through their brains on February 23rd, 2008 outside their home on Benbulben Road, Drimnagh.
David Curran (19) of Lissadel Green, Drimnagh had pleaded not guilty to murdering the men in their front garden but guilty to their manslaughter on the defence of provocation.
His 21-year-old co-accused was found not guilty of the double murder. Seán Keogh of Vincent Street West, Inchicore had been charged with the crime on the grounds of joint enterprise. However he was found guilty of assault causing harm to one of the men.
The Central Criminal Court jury of eight women and four men took almost six hours to reach the majority verdict following a trial that lasted just over three weeks.
It heard that Mr Kalite was in a row with an unnamed teenaged boy outside the Drimnagh Take Away on Benbulben Road shortly before 6.30pm that Saturday. David Curran’s father and two unnamed teenaged girls also became involved before the row ended and Mr Kalite went home.
Curran claimed that he spent the day drinking alcohol and taking drugs with Seán Keogh and the other teenagers, although he had committed to a community detox programme at the time.
He said he started the day by going to the off-licence at 10am and getting vodka and cans. He said he shared this with some of the others and later drank alco-pops, smoked cannabis and took at least 15 benzodiazepine tablets.
He said he was ‘robbing’ with Keogh at a factory in Inchicore while the three teenagers and his father were fighting with Mr Kalite at the chipper.
The jury did not believe Curran’s story that the teenage boy rang him and told the lie that his father had been stabbed. This boy did not give evidence.
Curran and Keogh made their way to the chipper. Curran had a screw-driver that he found in a moped he’d stolen earlier. He attacked an occupied car, but was told: “It’s not them”.
In the meantime, Mr Kalite had told his flatmates what had happened. They wanted him to stay indoors but he walked outside shortly before 6.45pm as the five teenagers came running towards the house.
Kamila Szeremata said she was standing beside Mr Kalite as David Curran swung at her with the screw driver, that she ducked and he stabbed Mr Kalite. Seán Keogh told gardai that he kicked Mr Kalite in his face as he fell. Within seconds Curran stabbed Marius Szwajkos as he moved towards his fallen friend.
The five teenagers fled, leaving Ms Szeremata and her brother Radek with the victims, who never regained consciousness and died in hospital within days.
The state pathologist explained that Mr Kalite sustained two stab wounds to his left temple, one which penetrated his skull and did irreparable damage to his brain. He also had broken teeth.
Dr Marie Cassidy said Mr Swajkos was stabbed through the left temple, skull and brain. He also had a fracture to the right side of his skull, consistent with falling to the ground after being stabbed.
The 12 jury members reached a unanimous verdict against Curran on the count of murdering Pawel Kalite and a majority verdict of 11 to one on the count of his murdering Marius Szwajkos.
The jury was not satisfied that Keogh was in a joint enterprise with Curran, that he knew he had a screwdriver going into the fight or that he might use it to kill or cause serious injury. The jury was unanimous in its decision to acquit him of murdering both men.
However Keogh will be sentenced later this month for assaulting Mr Kalite, causing him harm, by kicking him in the head.
Pawel Kalite’s sister, Agnieszka Kalite, wept silently as the verdicts were read out. She was comforted by her brother’s old boss.
Several of Keogh’s family members also became emotional and smiled over at him as he sat in the dock.
Curran eventually broke down in tears too and was comforted by his legal team, with none of his family and supporters in court to hear the verdict or see him being led away. He will be sentenced tomorrow morning after the court hears a victim impact statement.
Mr Justice Liam McKechnie thanked the 12 jurors and exempted them from jury service for life.