Pathologist: Man’s clothes were stiff with dried blood

A 54-year-old man found dead in his Limerick home died of multiple stab and incise wounds to his head, neck, body, and extremities, a murder trial has heard.

Deputy state pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar was giving evidence of his autopsy findings in the trial of the 33-year-old Limerick man charged with murder.

The Central Criminal Court had already heard that Martin Purcell’s body was found with 41 wounds on Friday, Sept 30, 2011, in his apartment on Wickham St, Limerick.

Gerard Manning, of Upper Gerald Griffin St in the city, has pleaded not guilty to murdering him between Sept 28 and 30 that year.

Dr Jabbar testified yesterday that the cause of Mr Purcell’s death was “multiple stabbing and incise wounds of the head neck, body and extremities”. He said one of the wounds was 20cm deep.

He said he found damage to the heart, lungs, trachea, larynx, aorta, pulmonary trunk, pulmonary valve, pericardium, left and right pleura, stomach, liver, genital organ, and right jugular vein, along with damage to skeletal muscles, subcutaneous fatty tissue, his ear, and upper lip.

He said he also found fractures to Mr Purcell’s right and left ribs, sternum, and voice box as a result of stab wounds.

He said Mr Purcell was laying face up when he arrived at the scene. He was partially dressed; his pants were down, exposing his lower abdomen, thighs, groin, and genital area. He said most of the fabric of his clothing was stiff with dried blood.

The trial has already heard that Gerard Manning’s fingerprints were found in Mr Purcell’s blood at the scene.

However, when questioned about this, he told gardaí he didn’t know the deceased, had never been in his home and that it was a ‘stitch up’.

The trial continues on Wednesday.