Accused 'was unaware of extent of murder victim's injuries'

One of three New Age Travellers accused of the murder of a Portuguese national told gardaí he intended to force the deceased off a campsite but did not realise the extent of his injuries when he dragged him to a field where he later died.

Graeme Turnbull (aged 36) with an address at Ballyhooley Rd, Cork made a statement to gardaí when he was arrested following the discovery of the body of Sergio Abru, who died after suffering serious head injuries.

Mr Turnbull and two other men, Steven Job (aged 31) of Whiting Bay, Ardmore, Co Waterford and Stuart Spicer (aged 28), with an address at Ballyquin, c/o Ardmore Post Office deny the murder of Mr Abru (aged 43) at Clashanahy, Ardmore, Co Waterford between September 6 and 7, 2002.

At the Central Criminal Court today Garda Tom O’Sullivan told the court that he arrived at the scene on the morning of Saturday September 7 where the body of Mr Abru was identified to him.

While preserving the scene, he noticed "a trail of blood" leading to a number of caravans where the three accused men all resided.

Garda O’Sullivan said that later that day he took a statement from Mr Turnbull in which he admitted his involvement in the incident.

The accused told Garda O’Sullivan that Mr Abru had been drinking with a group the previous night in one of the caravans.

"Sergio got very aggressive towards Miriam [and her son]," he said.

Miriam is the former partner of the deceased and she was in a relationship with Mr Spicer, the third named accused at the time of Mr Abru’s death.

"We asked him to leave and I took him outside and we gave him a couple of slaps," he said.

"We were just trying to get him to leave - the last I saw of him he was at the top of the lane," he said.

Later that evening Garda O’Sullivan arrested Mr Turnbull who later made a further statement at Cobh garda station.

"I asked Sergio to come out of the trailer with the intention to get him to leave," he said. "A fight ensued and everyone got involved.

"Sergio was physically dragged from the site and it was not until the next morning that we realised how serious his injuries were," he said.

At that stage, Miriam called an ambulance but Mr Abru died as a result of his injuries.

"What we intended was for him to leave the site, but everyone got involved," Mr Turnbull told the gardaí.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins.