Garda: Dwayne Foster was ‘conscious at all times’

A GARDA who arrested Dwayne Foster, who was found unresponsive in Garda custody, has told an inquest that he was conscious at all times, that the three suspects in the house may have been in possession of a firearm, and that gardaí had to secure them immediately.

Mr Foster, aged 24, of Woodbank Avenue, Finglas, Dublin, was detained at Coolock Garda Station for questioning, in relation to the fatal shooing of mother- of-one Donna Cleary, when he was discovered unresponsive on March 7, 2006.

A postmortem by the deputy state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis found Mr Foster died from methadone intoxication.

Dr Curtis found 34 injuries on Mr Foster’s body caused by blunt force trauma, which did not cause or contribute to death.

The 24-year-old may have sustained some of the injuries while he was being subdued by gardaí in the course of his arrest at Thornton Lodge, The Curragh, Co Kildare, an inquest has heard.

Mr Foster was arrested along with two other suspects, Wayne Hart and Jeffrey Finnegan, on March 5.

Garda Martin Mulligan, who arrested Mr Foster, told the inquest he was conscious at all times that the three suspects may have been in possession of a firearm and that gardaí had to secure them immediately.

While he was being checked in at the Garda station Garda Martin Mulligan told the inquest he noticed “purple blotch marks on his (Mr Foster’s) neck on both sides of his voicebox to around his ears”.

Mr Foster explained that he suffered from throat cancer and was receiving medical treatment.