Murder trial of Dublin pair begins

The trial of two Dublin men accused of murdering a father-of-three heard gardaí found the victim dead on his sofa, with 16 stab wounds and his feet tied with a shoelace, a jury at the Central Criminal Court heard today.

Alan Keogh, aged 32, of Wellmount Green, Finglas, Dublin, and Gary McNevin, aged 31, of no fixed abode but with an address at Glenhill Road, Finglas, Dublin, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Peter Mitchell, aged 32, of Monasterboice Road, Crumlin, Dublin, at Monasterboice Road between October 17 and October 20, 2003 inclusive.

Mr Brendan Grehan, SC, opened the prosecution's case to the jury.

"It is the prosecution's contention that both accused are responsible for the murder of Peter Mitchell," he said. Mr Grehan told the jury of five women and seven men to "consider the case against both separately".

The court heard that the address where the killing occurred was the home of the accused.

Outlining the facts in the case, Mr Grehan said that the deceased worked in a maintenance depot for Dublin City Council and had three children with a partner, all of whom lived separately from Mr Mitchell.

On October 16, the day before his death, Mr Mitchell was with his children in the afternoon and he brought them back to his partner's home at approximately 7.30pm.

That evening, the deceased went to a pub on Parnell Street, where the two accused, along with a woman, were also drinking. "At some point, they appeared to fall into the company of Peter Mitchell," Mr Grehan said.

All four then went to an off-licence and took a taxi to the dead man's home in Crumlin in the early hours of October 17.

Mr Grehan told the jury they will hear evidence from neighbours who heard "noise and disturbances for a number of hours" until approximately 4.45am when three people were seen leaving Mr Mitchell's home. "Peter Mitchell did not leave the house," he added.

"You may conclude that Peter Mitchell, by the stage that these three people left the house, was either dead or fatally injured," he said.

Mr Grehan said a taxi driver will give evidence that he picked up two men and a woman around this time from Monasterboice Road, "one of whom had a crutch". Mr Grehan told the jury that McNevin had suffered an injury to his leg and at times requires a crutch.

"The man who got into the front of the taxi had blood on his clothing, particularly on his trousers and shoes," Mr Grehan said. The taxi driver received a tip and was told "you haven't seen me" or "you haven't seen us" after he dropped the woman and later the two men off.

The court heard the accused took off bloodied clothes and put these in a black plastic bag along with McNevin's crutch, which they were seen burning at a derelict ground on the afternoon of October 17.

Following a tip-off, gardaí arrived at the dead man's home on October 21. "They could see in the front window of the house that there was a body on the couch which was not moving," Mr Grehan said.

The back door of the house was open, and gardaí entered to discover "a lot of blood on the floor, on the couch, splatters on the walls, the ceilings and the kitchen", the court heard.

The man on the sofa, identified later as Peter Mitchell, was sitting up fully-clothed and had no shoes on. "His legs were tied together with what appeared to be a lace from his shoes, which were found nearby," Mr Grehan said.

The body had a total of 16 stab wounds, six of which injured the heart, lungs and aorta, the jury heard.

"It's quite clear that Peter Mitchell received his death in fairly appalling circumstances," Mr Grehan said.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Michael Peart.