Man who left party after row was followed and stabbed in heart

A man who left a party after a row flared in a Cork City apartment complex was followed outside and stabbed through the heart.

Mark Hanlon, 32, from Lotamore, Mayfield, died in Cork University Hospital from a single stab wound to the chest after the incident on Infirmary Rd in the early hours of May 6, 2012, Cork City Coroner’s Court heard yesterday.

Professor Marie Cassidy, the state pathologist, told city coroner Dr Myra Cullinane the fatal wound was inflicted with a single thrust of mild to moderate force.

The wooden-handled knife, which had an 11cm folding blade, penetrated the left side of his chest cavity, and pierced 6.5cm into a chamber of his heart.

Prof Cassidy said he died from a combination of blood loss and heart injuries. She said he would not have felt pain and would probably not have been aware how seriously injured he was before losing consciousness.

Timothy Kelleher, aged 25, of Maryborough Hill, Douglas, was subsequently charged last October with Mr Hanlon’s murder.

Cork City Corner’s Court heard earlier this year that Kelleher died of a drugs overdose on Oct 20 last, just days after he was charged with murder, and before a trial could take place.

The inquest into Mr Hanlon’s death heard yesterday that on the night of May 5, 2012, he and two friends arrived at the apartment Kelleher shared with his girlfriend Kellie Danza at the South Terrace complex.

They had three slabs of beer and Kelleher was offering cocaine.

In her deposition, Claire Graham, who was not drinking or taking drugs, said there was a bad atmosphere in the apartment. “I felt there would be trouble,” she said.

Mr Hanlon’s friend, Kieran Hurley, said as the night wore on, a verbal row erupted and Ms Danza slapped him in the face.

He said he and Mr Hanlon then tried to leave the apartment but were blocked by Ms Danza, who wrongly accused Mr Hanlon of taking her engagement ring.

Mr Hurley said they were followed on to the street by Ms Danza who hit Mr Hanlon repeatedly on the head with her shoe before he pushed her to the ground.

Kelleher then arrived and confronted Mr Hanlon.

Ms Graham, who had also left the apartment, said: “He (Kelleher) had something in his hand. I thought it was a bottle. They came together and Kellie’s boyfriend swung his hand down by his waist. I didn’t think he had stabbed him.”

As Mr Hanlon stumbled away, she said Ms Danza threw a bottle at him.

It was only when he collapsed that people realised he had been stabbed.

Ms Graham held his head as Ms Danza and her friend, Donna Cahill, tried to stop the bleeding before gardaí arrived.

Mr Hanlon’s father left the courtroom as Ms Danza began to give evidence.

She told the coroner she was drunk and had taken cocaine that night and could only remember “bits and pieces of the night”.

“The night is a complete blur. I remember trying to stop the bleeding. That won’t leave me,” she said.

The inquest was adjourned last night, and will resume next month.