Robert's mother spoke to killer three hours after he disappeared

MIDLETON schoolboy Robert Holohan died of neck injuries consistent with manual strangulation.

The jury on the opening day of the murder trial heard there was a pattern of deep bruising in the soft tissue of the neck and there were marks on the underside of Robert's ribcage which could have been caused by someone sitting astride his chest.

Wayne O'Donoghue, 21, of Ballyedmund, Midleton, was asked at the outset of the murder trial yesterday if he had murdered his 11-year-old next door neighbour. He said he was not guilty of murder but was guilty of manslaughter.

When he first confessed to the crime to gardaí, he said: "I grabbed him by the neck. I did not mean it. It was an accident. I am a murderer. I am sorry. He was like a brother to me."

The mother of the deceased, Majella, last saw Robert alive at 2.30pm on January 4 when he left the house to go for a spin on his new BMX bike.

Knowing Robert was scared of the dark, she rang Wayne O'Donoghue who lives 28 metres from her home. The call was made at 5.30pm.

She asked O'Donoghue if he had seen her son. He said he had not.

The court would hear that in the intervening three hours, O'Donoghue had killed Robert.

This was an accident, O'Donoghue says. The prosecution says it was murder.

After Robert was killed, O'Donoghue took his body from the garden of his house and into the bathroom of his home. One of Robert's runners fell off. He laid him on the floor and threw water over his face. He dried Robert's face with toilet paper and flushed the paper down the toilet. He said he was panicking.

He then put two black refuse sacks over the legs and over the head of the deceased, carried the remains out to the boot of his Fiat Punto car and drove off. Two of O'Donoghue's fingerprints were subsequently detected on a plastic bag found on the body.

Before driving to Inch Strand to dump the body, O'Donoghue stopped at Foley's garage and bought a bottle of Lucozade.

O'Donoghue said: "I just removed the body. I threw the body into the ditch."

His dead body was found eight days later, on January 12, in remote undergrowth, his legs in the air, his head facing the ground.

The court heard yesterday that O'Donoghue returned to the isolated scene where he had dumped the body.

After searching around in the dark for 20 to 25 minutes with a torch, he located one of the two plastics bags on the body.

He then poured petrol on the bag and set fire to it.

Dr Marie Cassidy conducted a preliminary examination of the body at the scene by Inch strand.

Slight burn marks were found on his clothing.

Later she carried out a post-mortem.

She found injuries consistent with manual strangulation.

Shane Murphy, prosecution senior counsel, said her evidence would be that signs of haemorrhaging found on the body would have required 15 to 30 seconds of neck compression.

Her report also showed the deceased had an injury to his mouth and that this could have been caused by a blow or by having a hand held over the mouth.

As O'Donoghue admitted yesterday that he killed Robert, the key aspect of the case is what intention he had at the time of the killing.

Mr Murphy SC said: "What is the natural and probable consequence of a 20-year-old man applying force to an 11-year-old boy around the throat? What did Wayne O'Donoghue think he was doing when he applied force to that part of Robert Holohan's body? The State's case is that Wayne O'Donoghue intended to kill or cause serious injury to Robert Holohan at that time."

O'Donoghue, a 21-year-old engineering student of Ballyedmond, Midleton, was arraigned on the single count on the indictment at the Central Criminal Court, namely that of murdering Robert Holohan in Ballyedmond, Midleton, Co Cork, on January 4, 2005.

O'Donoghue replied: "Not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter."

The accused told gardaí that Robert had asked him to bring him to McDonald's in Midleton for a milkshake. O'Donoghue refused because he had study to do.

He said Robert threw pebbles at his Fiat Punto.

O'Donoghue said: "I was holding him by the scruff of the neck. I then moved my left hand to his Adam's Apple. I said, 'Stop, with the f***ing stones'. I don't know how long I held him. I didn't mean to cause him any injury. He fell on the ground when I let him go."

Mr Murphy SC said, "Wayne O'Donoghue admitted he was annoyed with Robert Holohan. He was annoyed as he grabbed him with his left hand around the neck up against the car. He denied he intended to harm him He said he was in a panic. Was he in a panic?"

The case continues today.