Neo-nazi movie enacted in killing

A witness has told a Waterford murder trial that the accused stamped on his alleged victim’s head, saying: “This is out of American History X.”

American History X is a 1998 film about neo-nazis starring Edward Norton.

Gavin Walsh was giving evidence yesterday in the trial of a 20-year-old Waterford man charged with murdering a 22-year-old in the city almost three years ago. The trial has heard Martin Brophy died of blunt force trauma to the head, which could have been due to kicking, stamping, or stomping.

William Moran, of Connolly Place in the city, is charged with murdering Mr Brophy at the old Waterford Institute of Technology building between May 19 and May 21, 2012.

Mr Moran has pleaded not guilty to the charge and is on trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. Mr Walsh, 21, testified he and Mr Moran went to what he described as “the warehouse” with two females on May 19, 2012.

“There was a trolley hanging from the ceiling and a metal step your man [Mr Brophy] was sleeping on,” he said, explaining that this grey step was like a bench.

“I didn’t know him, but I was in the warehouse before and he was there. William was calling him Skip.

“William Moran ended up waking him. He started banging his foot off the metal yoke. He woke up in a bit of a fright, kind of jumped up and told William to go away.”

He said one of the females “calmed the two boys down” and that they all sat down and drank cider for at least an hour. The girls eventually went home.

He said Mr Brophy later said Mr Moran’s cousin, Ray Connolly, had threatened Mr Brophy’s sister with a knife. He said that Mr Moran denied this, but that Mr Brophy told him to get his cousin on the phone and tell him to “come down here”.

He said that Mr Moran did ring his cousin and put him on loudspeaker. “Skip [Mr Brophy] shouted into the phone that he’d slice Ray’s throat if he came down,” he said.

Mr Walsh said the conversation between the accused and his cousin continued after he took him off loudspeaker and that Mr Moran then told the witness what he had said to his cousin.

“He said if me and William give Skip a beating, will you sort us out with a few Es, drugs,” he testified. “I said: ‘No, he’s too drunk.’ William said: ‘I’ll do it myself.’ ”

Mr Walsh said that, as he was about to leave, Mr Moran went behind Mr Brophy and dragged him. “He started kicking him severely in the head and digging him in the head,” he said, explaining that this had happened six or seven times.

He was asked if Mr Brophy had reacted. “No, he was too drunk,” he replied.

Mr Walsh said that he told Mr Moran to stop and tried to grab him by the shoulder, but that the accused had pushed him away.

“He dragged him up to the metal thing and put his teeth on it,” said Mr Walsh. “He said: ‘This is out of American History X’, a film, and then stamped on his head with his Timberland boot. I said: ‘You’re going to kill your man’ and started crying.”

Mr Walsh stated that he pushed Mr Moran, who fell over beside a brick.

“William got back up and lifted up the brick,” he said. “I asked: ‘What are you doing with that?’ He said: ‘I’m a mad bastard’ and hit Skip’s head with it.”

The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury.