THE STATE Pathologist has said two Polish men, stabbed outside their Dublin home, died of penetrating injuries to their heads, possibly caused by a cross-shaped or Phillips-type screwdriver.
Prof Marie Cassidy was giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court on the fourth day of the trial of two Dublin men charged with murdering the two mechanics.
Pawel Kalite (28) and Marius Szwajkos (27) sustained the stab wounds to their brains on February 23rd, 2008, on Benbulben Road, Drimnagh.
David Curran (19) of Lissadel Green, Drimnagh, has pleaded not guilty to their murder but guilty to their manslaughter. His co-accused, Seán Keogh (21), of Vincent Street West, Inchicore, pleaded not guilty to the double murder.
Prof Cassidy testified Mr Kalite had two cross-shaped injuries to his left scalp, one of which penetrated the skull and brain. She said there was an 11cm-long track through his brain from left to right. “There was extensive damage to the internal structures of the brain and it’s unlikely he would have recovered,” she said, explaining that the brain was swollen and haemorrhagic, and the brain stem damaged.
She said Mr Kalite also had three broken teeth and multiple abrasions to his face, which she said could have been caused by punching, kicking or falling face down when stabbed.
He had fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, bruised arms and abrasions on his knees. His arms might have been injured by being grabbed, and his knees when he fell after being stabbed, she said.
Prof Cassidy said Mr Szwajkos also died of a single penetrating wound to the left side of his head, with a hole in the skull and an 11cm-long band of injury running from left to right.
“There was extensive damage to the brain stem,” she said, explaining this was of vital importance. “He would not have recovered from the brain trauma.” She said this victim also had a fracture to the right side of his skull, which might indicate that he was struck to that side of the head or that he struck it against the ground when he fell. He developed pneumonia in hospital, which would have hastened his death, she added.
Prof Cassidy said several of both young men’s organs were harvested for transplant.
A primary school student told the court that she saw David Curran stab the two Polish men. The girl, who cannot be named because of her age, testified by video-link.
“I think David had a screwdriver and the Polish man tried to stop him,” she said. “Then he stabbed him I think in the side of the head.” She said the Polish man fell over the garden wall.
“I think he tried to jump over the wall to his friend and I think he started fighting with David then,” she continued. “I think David stabbed the Polish fella then.” The child said she saw this man fall too, before David Curran ran towards the local park.
She said she had seen him with the screwdriver moments earlier at the local chipper. She recalled that two girls had been fighting with the bald man (Mr Kalite) there. “She just hit him with the bottle,” she said of one of the girls. The other girl was on the phone, she recalled.
“I think she just said: ‘Come, there’s a fight,’ or something like that,” recalled the child.
A teenager earlier denied making a statement saying he saw David Curran on top of a bald man on the ground that evening.
“I thought David was punching the other fella,” read the statement, which had been signed on completion by the teenager, his mother and two gardaí.
The statement described blood flowing out of the bald man’s head into a puddle.
“It looked like David grabbed his throat and used his other hand to punch him,” continued the statement. “There were two girls trying to pull David off.” He said a teenaged boy then shouted: “Come on Schillaci. They’re dead,” before running away. The court had previously heard that Schillaci was David Curran’s nickname.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Liam McKechnie and a jury of eight women and four men.