Family of murder accused give evidence

The mother of a murder accused has alleged that her son snapped and "lost it" during a row with one of his neighbours four years ago.

Mrs Doreen O’Donovan testified from the witness box today that her son Mr Keith O’Donovan (aged 31) had been rowing with the deceased, Mr Noel McCarthy (aged 28), on the night of his death on May 4, 2000.

"I just saw Keith lose it, like that," she said, snapping her fingers at her son’s defence counsel, Blaise O’Carroll SC.

Mrs O’Donovan was giving evidence on the fourth day of the murder trial of her son Keith O’Donovan, of Spriggs Road, Gurranabraher, Cork city.

He has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of his neighbour, Mr Noel McCarthy, at Spriggs Road, Gurranabraher, Cork on 4 May 2000.

She told Mr O'Carroll that her son "was a very quiet young lad, very shy" and had seen much violence in the home during his childhood.

"He saw his brother getting beatings from his father. I had ongoing barring orders since 1983," said Mrs O’Donovan.

She said that her husband had beaten her many times and described him as "an alcoholic" who became "very, very violent when he had a drink in him".

She told the court that her son had been involved in a row with the deceased around 9.30pm on May 3, 2000 during which he threatened to slit her son’s throat.

She told Mr O'Carroll that she had dragged her son back into the house and calmed him down when Noel McCarthy came to her door again.

"I said ‘please Noel go away I want no trouble’. He said ‘I want to talk to Keith now'," Mrs O’Donovan said.

The jury heard that her six-year-old grandson, who had been staying the night with his father, "was hysterical" with fear.

"The child was crying and he actually wet his pants" she said. "I think that night when Keith saw Shane he saw himself as a child."

Under cross-examination by Mr Paul Green BL, prosecuting, Mrs O’Donovan admitted her son was "angry alright" when Mr McCarthy called to their house that night.

When asked what Mr McCarthy was alleged to have been shouting, Mrs O’Donovan replied "I don’t know, I took the child upstairs".

When Mr Green suggested that Mr McCarthy did not call to her house at all and that it was her son who was trying to get into the McCarthy home several doors away, Mrs McCarthy repeated that she didn’t know.

"He saw his child and he saw me crying and he lost it," she told Mr Green.

The father of the accused, Mr Jeremiah O’Donovan (aged 55) told Mr O’Carroll, defending, that he had taken several "valium pills to relax a tension problem" that night and had gone to bed early.

He said he was woken suddenly and found his wife and grandson "hysterical" around 3am.

He said his son Keith was "very hysterical and pale looking" and so he gave him "a cup of tea and a couple of relaxers and he went asleep on the couch".

He said he agreed with Mrs McCarthy that there had been no problem between the two families and they had been "all friends" down the years.

He later told Mr Green prosecuting that "in fact we were so friendly when my wife got a barring order against me I would stay in Mrs McCarthy's house".

Referring to his wife’s testimony that he was a violent alcoholic during Keith's childhood, Mr O'Donovan said: "We had our tiffs. I wouldn’t say I was violent. We had a lovely life, thirty-two years married. Every husband and wife have their ups and downs."

He agreed however that his wife had several barring orders made against him. Under cross-examination by prosecutor Mr Green, Mr O’Donovan admitted he did "like an ould drink" but insisted his drink problem only began when his son Keith was around 15 years old.

He agreed with Mr Green that he had a "very happy" marriage and a happy home.

"Keith got honours in his Leaving Cert, it would be wrong to say that he was unhappy," said Mr O’Donovan.

Mr O’Donovan told Mr Green that on the night in question, he ran downstairs and saw his son "walking up the road".

"He was all tensed. I got him into the house. I sat him in the sitting room, I gave him three valium and within about a half an hour he was asleep," he said.

When asked why he gave his son valium, Mr O’Donovan replied that Keith "was very tense and excited".

He denied he was "coached to give evidence" in court today to suit his son.

When Mr Green suggested that his son was "calm enough to go to sleep within half an hour of stabbing Mr McCarthy to death" Mr O’Donovan replied: "I don’t know who did the damage, there were two of them there, I was in bed, I didn’t even know there was a scuffle."

The younger brother of the accused, Mr Anthony O’Donovan (aged 21) gave evidence that he was woken up at about "half one" in the morning by the deceased.

"I heard Noel’s voice outside the door, shouting for Keith to come out, threatening things."

He said he returned to his bedroom but didn’t sleep. He said his mother and Keith were "hysterical" downstairs.

"I remember Keith telling me to go back to my bedroom. He had a look of fear on his face," he told the jury.

When cross-examined by Mr Green, prosecuting, Mr O’Donovan said he felt "absolutely terrified".

He said he heard more knocking on his door and looked out his window to see "Keith chasing Noel up the path".

He denied to Mr Green that he was lying about "the look of fear" on his brother’s face and that he had "chosen to give untruthful evidence".

"No you’re wrong there," he said.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Butler tomorrow.