Murder trial hears of ‘drain’ allegation

The man accused of murdering a homeless 59-year-old, whose body was found in an apartment complex rubbish chute, told a friend that night “the man was down the drain”, the prosecution claimed on the opening day of the trial yesterday.

David O’Loughlin, aged 28, with an address at Garden City Apartments, North Main St, Cork City, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork to murdering Liam Manley, 59, at Garden City Apartments on May 12, 2013.

Seán Gillane, prosecuting, gave the jury what he described as a thumbnail sketch of the prosecution allegations, which he told them was not itself evidence of what occurred.

“Mr Manley was 59 at the time of his death and was someone who had worked a fair bit in his young life, but as he got older he had become a stranger to luck. He developed an alcohol problem and had become an alcoholic. At the time of his death, he was dependent on Simon [Community] for accommodation,” he said.

“It appears the accused and the deceased were unknown to each other at the time of the events. Mr O’Loughlin was 26 at the time and he resided at Garden City apartments, at number 10 on the top floor. The events with which we are concerned seemed to involve an amount of very, very heavy drinking by the deceased, by the accused, and some eyewitnesses.”

He said CCTV footage from streets around the city showed the deceased and the accused at different locations in the early hours of the morning. “In the early hours of May 12, at 4.02am, the accused and the deceased met each other in the city centre. They repaired to the area of Garden City apartments and entered it at 4.22am, Mr O’Loughlin and the deceased.

“After 6am, David O’Mahony, an acquaintance of the accused, arrived. He had individually spent much of the previous 24/36 hours drinking heavily. He noticed the deceased in the apartment. He did not know who he was and described him as older and quiet.

“Almost immediately on his entry, a verbal alterca-tion developed between the accused and the deceased. That quickly escalated into a physical assault on the deceased. The deceased looked afraid throughout this and he was punched in the face. Mr O’Mahony said he pleaded with him [the accused] to stop and he was told to shut up and sit down.

“This exchange ended with the deceased being dragged out of the apartment by Mr O’Loughlin. Mr O’Mahony said he remained inside.

“Mr Manley met what can only be described as a gruesome death. Mr O’Mahony heard the shutting of a steel door. When one leaves apartment 10, immediately to the right of the lifts there is a steel door. It allows access on the fourth floor to a steel cylindered mechanism — a rubbish chute to allow for the disposal of rubbish to the bottom. You will be satisfied the door he heard shutting was that door.

“He [the accused] returned, without the deceased and said to Mr O’Mahony, he said, ‘the man was down the drain’. Mr O’Mahony did not believe this.

The trial continues.