Man found guilty of CD row murder

A Waterford man who stabbed another man to death with a kitchen knife after intervening in a row over a CD has been found guilty of murder at the Central Criminal Court.

Father-of-one Anthony Stone (aged 21) from Ardmore Park, Ballybeg was convicted by the unanimous verdict of a jury of the murder of 33-year-old Simon Carton at his flat on Barrack Street in Waterford city on September 7, 2004.

Mr Carton, originally from Dalkey in Dublin, was stabbed seven times and died the following day at Waterford Regional Hospital.

He had received knife wounds to his neck, shoulder and body after intervening in a tussle over a UB40 CD. One witness, Mr Rossa Blackmore who was in the room at the time, claimed he was grinning as the attack was carried out.

The State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy said some of the wounds were between 5 and 7 inches deep.

Stone told the jury that he stabbed Mr Carton because he was "too drunk to tackle him" himself.

He claimed that he came to the defence of his friend James Halligan who got into a fight with Mr Carton after the deceased refused to lend him the CD. However, this was not accepted by the jury, which took just over five hours to reach its verdict.

Prosecution counsel, Mr Edward Comyn SC said Mr Carton had politely refused to lend Mr Halligan the CD and had offered to make him a copy. However, the two men got into a "tussle" and Stone claimed that Mr Halligan was being choked on the ground.

"I think James swung for him, gave him a dig in the chest then Simon hit James and James fell back on the floor," Stone told the court.

"He was a big young fella. I was probably too drunk to tackle him myself," he said. "I tried to stab him in the shoulder just so he'd leave go."

Mr Edward Comyn described the assault on Mr Carton as an "horrific attack without warning".

During the trial evidence was heard that Stone stabbed Mr Carton with a kitchen knife that he had been carrying down his sock with the blade facing upwards.

He had carried the knife after being attacked two weeks beforehand by a group of Travellers who had knocked him unconscious. He had been drinking for two weeks since being released from hospital and had also taken Valium tablets and smoked "hash".

Mr Carton’s father Peter, mother Phil and his sister Sarah were in court for the verdict whilst his other sister Rachel attended at various times throughout the trial.

Giving evidence at the sentence hearing Mrs Sarah White said: "Simon was a quiet, gentle person who lived his life and didn’t interfere with other people. He was generous, hospitable and social. His friends nick-named him the BFG for his gentle nature. He was an important part of his family’s life and we will miss him greatly. All his family have been devastated by the way he was taken from us. We have to continue our lives with the loss of our son, brother and uncle."

Leaving the Four Courts, Mrs White added: "Simon can never have justice as he will never get his life back."

They said they had no further comment to make on the court proceedings or the outcome of the case.

Detective Garda Donal Donohue told the court that Stone had a number of previous convictions for possession of drugs, the unlawful use of a vehicle, driving without insurance and the possession of a knife. He said Stone had a three-year-old daughter but did not have a good relationship with the mother. He said Stone suffered from depression.

Mr Justice Eamon de Valera sentenced Stone to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. He said that court proceedings were often impersonal.

However, he said: "This whole matter is an enormous tragedy particularly for the Carton family and I wouldn’t want to think that because of the impersonal nature of what goes on that this isn’t appreciated by the people who see tragedy pass through this door day in and day out."

He noted that as well as the Carton family this was a tragedy for the Stone family as well and he had seen Mr Stone’s parents in court everyday supporting their son.

Mr Justice de Valera noted the role that alcohol and drugs had played in this case. He said that in the past 14 days he had sat through three rape trials and a murder trial which all involved "serious amounts of drink" to the extent that he believed that there would have been no trials without it.

He noted that Mr Carton’s murder also involved an "excessive amount of drug taking which is scourging this country".

Mr Patrick McCarthy SC apologised to the Carton family on behalf of his client and sought leave to appeal against the verdict, which was refused. He also asked that Stone should serve his life sentence in Cork Prison to be close to his family.