An innocent man killed in an assault by two Dublin men, who mistook him for a child molester, died from multiple kicks to the head, a murder trial jury heard yesterday.
Mr Stephen Doyle (24), of Balcurris Road, Ballymun, and Mr William Broderick (22), of Cathedral View Walk, both deny the murder of Mr John Murray at a house at Parslickstown Green, Mulhuddart, Dublin, on January 15th, 1998. They also deny committing a violent disorder.
The former girlfriend of Mr Doyle, Ms Caroline O'Connor, lived at Parslickstown Green and at around 4 a.m. on January 15th, 1998, she was with a woman friend, Ms Louise O'Callaghan, watching videos and listening to music. Ms O'Callaghan's friend, Mr Murray, was asleep upstairs.
There was a bang on the door and voices shouting to open up. Ms O'Connor opened the door and the two accused and two other men came in. Mr Doyle and Ms O'Connor had a daughter from their previous relationship. Mr Doyle had a fixation that his daughter had been molested by a boyfriend of Ms O'Connor, and the purpose of the visit was to punish the man believed to be a child molester.
The Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, said Mr Murray died from "blunt force trauma to the head, with his nose crushed and upper lip lacerated, which would have bled profusely" and let blood enter the airways.
Mr Martin Giblin SC, defending, put it to Ms O'Connor that she had "drip-fed" Mr Doyle with comments for months with the implication that another man was possibly responsible for the alleged assaults. Ms O'Connor denied this.
A prosecution witness, Ms O'Callaghan, said she had been trapped in the box room that night by one of the four men, during which time she could hear an assault against Mr Murray. She thought Mr Doyle looked "emotionally unstable" when he arrived.
The trial continues.