Shannon murder trial hears single stab wound to the heart killed young Limerick man

23-year-old Nathan O’Neill admits manslaughter but denies murder

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and the six women and six men of the jury were told at the outset that the incident at the centre of this trial occurred in the early hours of the morning following celebrations after the St Patrick’s Day Grand Slam win by the Irish rugby team in 2018. File photo: Larry Cummins

One stab wound to the heart proved fatal for a young Limerick man at a nightclub in Shannon four years ago, the pathologist declared on Friday.

23-year-old Nathan O’Neill, who was 19 at the time and from Hill Top Drive, Dooradoyle, Limerick, is on trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork on a charge of murdering Jamie Higgins at the Shannon Knights licensed premises at Tullyvarraga, Shannon, County Clare, on March 18, 2018. He admits manslaughter but denies murder. He pleaded guilty to causing serious harm to Michael Shannon.

State pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan gave evidence by video-link to the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.

She said that before commencing her examination of the deceased she was informed that the background to the case was that the deceased and another man approached another man at a nightclub and there was an incident between them that was quickly broken up by bouncers.

Dr Mulligan was informed that the deceased realised he had been stabbed and then collapsed. The wounds to the body consisted of four stab wounds in the abdomen and one over the chest.

The pathologist was shown pictures of a knife recovered in the course of the investigation. It was 18cm long and the single-edged non-serrated blade measured 8.5cm from the hilt to the tip.

She agreed with prosecution senior counsel Dean Kelly that there were obvious stab wounds to the front of the body of the deceased and there was no sign of any blunt force trauma to the face.

The first wound on which the pathologist reported was to the left front of the chest. “It entered the front chest to the left of the breastbone, entering the front of the right ventricle of the heart. This was the fatal wound. It was 8cm deep,” Dr Mulligan said.

The second wound penetrated abdominal muscles and was 4cm deep. The third entered the body at the left flank of the abdominal cavity penetrating the left kidney. The last two wounds were to the front of the abdomen, penetrating to depths of 5.5cm and 4cm respectively.

Going into further detail of the fatal wound, Dr Mulligan said it went through the chest cavity, piercing the right ventricle of one of the main chambers of the heart. Repeating that this was the fatal wound, the pathologist said the wound to the kidney was the next wound of greatest interest.

A toxicology report was carried out on samples of blood and vitreous fluid and these proved positive for .09mgs per 100mls of cocaine and between 83 and 96mgs per 100mls of ethanol (alcohol). “He was mildly/acutely intoxicated at the time of his death,” Dr Mulligan found.

In conclusion, she found that the penetrating stab wound to the heart caused extensive bleeding and was ultimately the cause of death, and the wound to the kidney would have contributed to his death. “In terms of evidence of recent cocaine and alcohol use, these drugs did not contribute to death,” Dr Mulligan said.

Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and the six women and six men of the jury were told at the outset that the incident at the centre of this trial occurred in the early hours of the morning following celebrations after the St Patrick’s Day Grand Slam win by the Irish rugby team in 2018.

The trial continues.