Fermoy accused: I meant to kill myself, not boxing coach

A 51-year-old Cork man who shot-dead a boxing coach outside his home told gardaí he had intended to kill himself but killed his victim instead because of a "fit of madness," a jury in the Central Criminal Court heard today.

Det. Gda Tom Ryan was giving evidence in the trial of John Collins (aged 5)1, of Rathealy Road, Fermoy, Co Cork, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering John Mahon on the 12th February 2006.

The accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter but the prosecution rejected this.

Mr Collins also pleaded guilty to two other charges relating to the possession of a shotgun and ammunition.

Det. Gda Ryan told prosecuting counsel Mr Edward Comyn SC that Collins, a separated father-of-three, told him he had a history of mental illness and that on the night of the shooting, he had been drinking in a number of pubs when he "started to feel unwell".

While crossing the bridge, he said he met the deceased, whom he had known to see from years previously as his then-teenage sons' boxing coach.

He claimed Mr Mahon had beaten up one of his sons because he had not tried hard enough at a boxing event 14 years before, but said he couldn’t remember ever pressing charges against him.

He also claimed Mr Mahon pushed him and threatened him with a bottle. He said he didn’t know whether he had been speaking to Mr Mahon about the IRA and threatening him.

He said everything was "a bit hazy, like slow-motion" and added: “There was no hate and no love. Just numb.”

When Det. Gda Ryan asked him what he decided to do, Collins replied: “Not hurt anyone. Not him anyway. I didn’t think of the man for years. The reason I took the gun was to kill myself.”

He told Det. Gda Ryan he had a "fit of madness" and that is why he killed him.

On another occasion Mr Collins told him he didn’t regret the shooting. “The only thing I regret is that his family are hurt by this.”

He later took back the previous statement, saying: “I say things that I regret when I’m upset. I need to be in hospital.”

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Mr John Edwards SC, Det Gda Ryan said he had been unaware of the grudge Mr Collins bore him personally.

Asked why he thought Mr Collins might have held him responsible "rationally or irrationally" for losing his house, Det. Gda Ryan said it was probably due to an incident in 1994 when he was called to the home of the accused who was found and later convicted of attacking his wife with an axe.

He also said Collins readily pointed out the gun concealed underneath a unit in the kitchen after his arrest and helped them get it out when they failed to remove the board.

Prosecution counsel Mr Shane Costello BL read into evidence the statement by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster who said the deceased was shot three times.

She said two of the three shots were fata l- one cutting the aorta and another from mid to close range directed at the head.

“Death would have been immediate,” she said.

The trial before Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins and a jury of six men and six women continues tomorrow.