Man stabbed deceased in neck, court hears

A man stabbed his flatmate in the neck with a fork and a screwdriver puncturing his tongue, a murder trial jury heard today.

The Central Criminal Court was told that the accused man, Mr Martin Merrigan (aged 34) was having a homosexual relationship with Mr Mark Egan (aged 42) at their flat in Loreto Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin.

Both men were alcoholics and had been drinking heavily on the day and evening of the killing.

The court heard that the accused became enraged when the deceased kept "going on about Stevie", another man with whom Mark Egan had become friendly.

In evidence, Garda Gareth Billings said that when he was arrested, the accused gave the name Martin Egan. He had used that name to give the impression to neighbours they were brothers, not partners.

Questioned by Mr Patrick McCarthy SC, the witness said that in interview, Mr Merrigan said that the deceased "melted my head for two hours". He was saying "Stevie this and Stevie that...Stevie was the main man." The accused had drunk 12 or 13 cans of alcohol that day, the court heard.

He told gardai he "just wanted to give him (Mark Egan) a few slaps so he'd stop going on about Stevie" but that the deceased "came at me first."

The witness claimed the accused said: "I stuck the fork into his neck" and the fork bent. He said the deceased had swore at him and said he should have left him (Merrigan)on the streets where he found him.

The accused stuck a screwdriver into the deceased's neck and he fell back and hit his head on two planks of wood that were lying on the floor. "I didn't intend to kill him, I swear to God I didn't", he allegedly told gardai.

Mr Merrigan said he had loved the deceased man and he was "more like a brother". The court heard that Mr Egan died from a resulting haemorrhage and his body was found lying on the floor wrapped in a duvet. Mr Merrigan was in the living room when the gardai arrived.

There were blood stains on the floor, on the wall behind the bed and in the bathroom. The court also heard there appeared to have been some attempt at cleaning up before gardai arrived.

The accused has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Egan at Loreto Court, Rathfarnham on March 1 2001.

The trial continues tomorrow.