Mahon told ‘remarkable’ number of lies, jury hears

A jury has been told that what David Mahon did in the aftermath of his stepson receiving a fatal stab wound was “straight out of the How to Get Away with Murder handbook”.

The prosecutor also said that, if it was a case of accident or suicide, David Mahon was the most unfortunate man in Ireland, who had given a good impression of someone who had committed murder.

Remy Farrell was giving his closing speech in the trial yesterday, where the Dubliner is charged with murdering his stepson, Dean Fitzpatrick, who was the brother of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick.

Mr Mahon, aged 45, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the father-of-one on May 26, 2013.

The 23-year-old received a stab wound to the abdomen outside the apartment his mother, Audrey Fitzpatrick, shared with Mr Mahon at Burnell Square, Northern Cross. The Central Criminal Court has heard that he bled to death internally.

The court heard the accused voiced the possibility to gardaí that Dean had walked into the knife he was holding on purpose.

Mr Farrell noted that the accused had not mentioned the possibility of suicide or any “terrible accident” to the friend with whom he had spent the following hours.

“That’s something he cooks up later for the gardaí,” said the barrister.

He said that Mr Mahon had, instead, fled the scene.

“David Mahon gives a very good impersonation of someone who has committed murder,” he said.

Mr Farrell asked the jurors to look at the “remarkable” number of lies that he said the accused had told gardaí and to question the reason for each one.

“You’ll be satisfied they point to guilt,” he said.

He said that the biggest lie the accused told was about the seriousness of the injury; Mr Mahon had told gardaí that he thought the knife had just nicked or grazed his stepson.

Mr Farrell said his fleeing the scene and his telling his friend that he thought the knife had gone right through suggested that he knew the extent of the injury.

He also noted that the knife had hit the spine and left a groove.

The defence will deliver its closing speech on Tuesday.