Man fatally stabbed in drunken row had taken cocaine

COCAINE was found in the system of a 34-year-old man stabbed to death in a drunken row at his home in Tralee, assistant state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster yesterday told a murder trial.

Toxicology tests on samples taken during a postmortem examination by her at Kerry General Hospital, Tralee, on January 1 last, showed Michael “Drip” Lonergan had taken roughly a line of cocaine.

The samples also showed the deceased, who received his injuries during a New Year’s Eve party, had a concentration of 163mg of alcohol in his blood.

Mr Lonergan, a father of five, suffered a fatal stab wound to the heart and died on the operating table hours after being admitted to Kerry General.

His brother, Ailbe Lonergan, 31, of 12 Quill Street, Tralee, has pleaded not guilty to his murder at 58 Baloonagh Estate, Tralee, on December 31, 2006.

The Central Criminal Court, in Tralee, was told there were three stab wounds on Michael Lonergan’s body.

Dr Bolster also had 20 fresh bruises on his body as well as wounds to his hands, which indicated efforts at self-defence.

The cause of death was haemorrhaging and shock due to a stab wound to the chest, she testified.

Dr Bolster said she did not see any white powder in Mr Lonergan’s stomach and it was more likely that he snorted (through the nose) the cocaine.

She said when a person consumed both alcohol and cocaine another substance, called cocaethylene, was formed.

“When both cocaine and alcohol are taken it’s more dangerous from the point of view of causing death. The combination also affects behaviour in terms of aggression,” she said.

Its effects on individuals varied, but it could result in violent behaviour, she stated.

“The important thing in the case of cocaine is dosage and how it is administered.”

Outlining injuries to Michael Lonergan, Dr Bolster said the fatal knife wound entered the right side of his chest, went through the lung and into the right chamber of the heart.

She said he lost about three litres of blood.

Numerous tattoo marks were on his body including the names of his widow, Yvonne, and daughter, Tiffany, who gave evidence during the trial, as did other people who were at the party in their home when the stabbing occurred.

Sergt Donal Horgan presented a number of exhibits, including a blood-stained shirt worn by the deceased on the night of his death and a black-handled kitchen knife found behind a wheelie bin in the driveway. Yvonne Lonergan identified the knife as from her kitchen.

Counsel in the case will give their closing statements today.

Before discharging the jury yesterday, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy told them to bring overnight bags with them.