Sligo man may have died after 'stamp' to head

The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, told a murder trial at the Central Criminal Court today that the death of an ex-soldier from Sligo could have been partially caused by a heavy “stamp” to the head.

Mark Sweeney (aged 22) of Finisklin Road, Sligo, denies murdering Paul Watters (aged 45), a native of Avondale, Sligo, in a laneway at Stephen Mews, Sligo, on July 27 last year.

While being questioned by junior prosecuting counsel, Eileen O’Leary BL, Dr Cassidy said that when she attended the scene on July 27 she found flies laying eggs on Mr Watter’s bloodied body.

The deceased was removed to the mortuary, where Dr Cassidy established that his injuries “were mostly to the head”.

She found at least eight lacerations as well as areas of bruising and abrasion to the face and skull.

Behind the right eyebrow the skull had fractured, and there was bruising to the brain and bleeding into the skull cavity.

Dr Cassidy told the jury the injuries corresponded with a stamp mark, such as might be left by the sole or heel of a shoe.

In her conclusion, Dr Cassidy said Mr Watters died from a combination of blunt-force trauma to the head, inhalation of blood and bleeding inside the skull.

“It is very likely that even with good treatment he would not have survived these injuries,” she said.

Prosecuting counsel, Tom O’Connell SC, read through a statement made by the accused to Detective Garda Eddie McHale of Sligo Garda Station the day after the killing.

Det Gda McHale was in court to verify the statement. Mr Sweeney had told gardaí that he was drinking with Mr Watters in Stephen Mews when a row erupted over the deceased’s claim to be Mr Sweeney’s father.

“I put my foot on top of his head and pushed him back on the ground,” Mr Sweeney said in his statement.

“I could hear his head hitting the ground.” Det Gda McHale confirmed to prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan SC that the accused had cooperated fully during the interview.

He said he was “not surprised” that assessments had shown Mr Sweeney to be in the bottom 2% of the population in terms of mental capability.

The court also heard from Jeremy Smyth, who lives adjacent to the laneway where Mr Watters' body was found.

The area was used as a drinking den and he said it was commonly littered with empty bottles, cans and wooden palettes.

On the night of Mr Watter’s death, Mr Smyth heard raised voices in the laneway and what appeared to be a palette falling over.

He went out with a torch and shone it to where the noise was coming from. “I saw two men down there and asked them to take it easy.

"The man in the black jacket replied that his mate had just fallen over and that everything seemed to be okay,” he said.

At approximately 2.33am Mr Smyth was startled by the sound of breaking glass, and went out again.

He saw the man in the black jacket, who he thought was in his early 20s, hurrying towards him. “He turned the corner and explained to me that his mate had fallen over and asked me if I could help him with him.

"I told him that if he wanted help that he should go up to the police station,” said Mr Smyth. The witness described hearing footsteps a short time later, and the gate from the laneway into Stephen Street Car Park being shut.

The following morning, he left for work to find the area sealed off because a body had been found, and he contacted gardaí during his lunch break.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul Carney and the jury of nine women and three men.