Murder witness 'saw intestines protruding from stab wounds'

A friend of a man who died following an altercation on the way home from the pub has told a jury that he could see his friend's intestines protruding from a bad stab wound to his right side immediately after the incident.

Dane Pearse (aged 21) of Londonbridge Drive, Irishtown, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Mark Spellman at Londonbridge Road, Irishtown, on August 4, 2007.

Oisin Hoctor told Isobel Kennedy SC, prosecuting, that Mr Spellman was lying on his back with blood all over him. His eyes were open but glazed and Mr Hoctor was not sure if his friend was still alive.

Mr Hoctor said he, Mr Spellman and another friend had been at a 'Google' work party in the 51 pub on Haddington Road. They left the pub at closing time and decided to go back to Mr Spellman's home in Sandymount to drink and play computer games.

He said they were in "good, jovial form" and that Mr Spellman was walking slightly ahead of him along Londonbridge Road. Mr Hoctor remembered seeing a couple some distance away.

He said "all of a sudden" a gap had opened up and Mr Spellman was around 15 meters ahead of his friends, approaching the corner of Londonbridge Drive. Mr Hoctor heard shouting and swearing, so caught up to his friend.

He saw a man and a girl around the corner and said the man was acting angrily towards Mr Spellman. He said Mr Spellman was saying "what's your problem, Dave?" and "chill out, Dave".

Mr Hoctor told the court that the man ran at Mr Spellman who stuck his foot into the air. Mr Hoctor said the man ran into Mr Spellman's foot which caught him in the chest and caused him to fall back on to his rear end.

Mr Hoctor said the man looked embarrassed but got up and got his bearings. He said the man was angry and there was "a lot of verbals going on".

The witness said Mr Spellman offered to shake the man's hand to which the man replied: "No, I've shook your hand already". He said Mr Spellman said: "I've left your flip flops there".

The man and girl left and the three friends continued to walk along Londonbridge Road. Mr Hoctor asked Mr Spellman why he had become involved and Mr Spellman said he did not know the man.

They then heard shouting from behind and turned to see the same man running towards them swinging his arms. Mr Hoctor said he saw a bat in one of the man's hands and another weapon in the other.

He said the man ran straight at Mr Spellman who removed his jacket and braced himself. The pair came together and went into a garden of a house. Mr Hoctor said it was "pitch dark" and that he struggled to open the gate to the garden.

He got it open and he said the man brushed out past him with what he thought was an eight-inch bladed knife with blood on it.

He found Mr Spellman lying on his back with a lot of blood on him and noticed a "bad stab wound" to his right side. He said he could see his friend's intestines protruding. He said he wasn't sure if Mr Spellman was alive, but then realised he was fighting to breathe.

He assumed from the amount of blood and the position of the stains that Mr Spellman had suffered several stab wounds.

In opening the case to the jury, Ms Kennedy said that Mr Spellman was brought to Saint Vincent's Hospital by ambulance and was pronounced dead at 3.25am.

She said gardaí also received a 999 call to go to Dane Pearse's house on Londonbridge Drive and that he had an injury to his arm.

Under cross examination by defence counsel, Diarmaid McGuinness SC, Mr Hoctor denied a suggestion that the first violence offered that night was offered by Mr Spellman. Mr Hoctor said "No, because he ran at Mark".

Mr McGuinness suggested that the witness possibly invented that version of events to put his friend in a better light to which Mr Hoctor replied: "You can suggest all you want".

Detective Garda Mark Walton presented maps of the area to the court and noted that there were blood stains along the 110 meters between the garden in which Mr Spellman was found and Mr Pearse's house.

Stains were also found along the floor of the hall of Mr Pearse's house and into the kitchen.

Detective Garda Eric Feary took photographs of the scene and showed the jury images of where a knife was found in that house and of a scabbard lying on a bed.

The hearing continues before Mr Justice Paul Carney and a jury of six men and six women.