A YOUTH killed his stepbrother after he was called "slow" and "a bastard", the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.
Mr Gregory Murphy SC, prosecuting, said Mr Patrick Foley plunged a knife into the chest of his stepbrother, Mr Thomas O'Sullivan, during a row outside their home in Bandon, Co Cork.
Witnesses would say they heard the defendant say: "You bastard I'll kill you. Nobody's going to call me a bastard and get away with it."
Counsel was opening the trial of Mr Foley (17), who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr O'Sullivan (20) outside their home at Richmount Court, Bandon on July 1st last year.
Mr Murphy said Mr O'Sullivan, "had been freed from jail on temporary release on June 30th, 1995, and had gone on a drinking spree that day.
Mr Foley had collected disability money that day and had given some to his mother and brother and also spent £25 on drink. He had gone drinking in a field that afternoon and later went to visit a friend with his mother. They returned home about 8.30 p.m.
Counsel said Mr O'Sullivan had returned home in the early hours of July 1st. The court would hear it was Mr O'Sullivan's habit to pick fights with Mr Foley and rather than have a fight, the defendant had gone to bed.
Mr O'Sullivan went to the bedroom and held a knife to Mr Foley, demanding he get a flagon of cider from the family car.
Mr Murphy said the two left the house at the invitation of Mr O'Sullivan to fight it out at the front of the house.
In the middle of the row, Mr Foley went into the house and got a knife, Mr Murphy said. Outside, at the front of the house, he used the knife which caused the death of Mr O'Sullivan.
Mrs Kathleen O'Sullivan said her son Thomas was very violent when he had drink taken. She said he would hit her son Patrick and sometimes herself. "I was scared of him," she said.
She said Thomas was jealous of Patrick because she cared a lot for him "on account of his being slow".
She said her son Patrick had been in foster care until he was 13. Then he had come back to the family home. He used to get epileptic fits and the family moved to Bandon so he could go to a special school. After his father committed suicide in July 1994, he became "very bad" and tried, to hang himself and cut his wrists.
She said her son Thomas wash drinking on June 30th, 1995. She had gone with her son Patrick to visit his aunt and they returned home at 10.30 p.m.
Thomas came home about midnight, she told Mr Barry White SC, defending. He was staggering and had more drink taken. Patrick was in bed.
She said Thomas went into Patrick's bedroom and she had been told that he held a knife to Patrick's throat. She said Thomas and Patrick began fighting outside and she tried to stop them.
She said she got Thomas off Patrick and told Patrick to run.
Patrick went into the house and came back with a knife, she said. Thomas had put up his leg and kicked Patrick in the face. She saw Thomas being stabbed and Patrick said to her: "I'm sorry, mam."
The trial continues today.