Deceased 'insulted' daughter of accused

27/10/2009 - 16:54:09
A Garda witness has told the jury in the murder trial of two brothers that one of the accused men told him the deceased had insulted his daughter, who has Down's Syndrome, prior to the alleged assault.

Garda Darragh Rigney was giving evidence in the trial of Daniel-Joseph “DJ” Byrne (aged 38), and his brother Jason Byrne (aged 32), both of Hammer Lane, Borness, Mountmellick, Co Laois.

The two men deny murdering Edward “Eddie” Dempsey (aged 49), on October 11, 2007.

The married father of two died in Portlaoise Hospital 10 months after the incident on Hammer Lane on December 18, 2006.

The Central Criminal Court has heard evidence from the deceased's brother, John Dempsey, who said that DJ and Jason Byrne “turned on” his brother and began beating him in their farmyard, after “inviting” him in to get a heifer that had strayed onto their land.

Mr Dempsey recalled how he saw Jason Byrne beating Eddie Dempsey on the legs and DJ Byrne hitting him over the right ear “with the greatest power".

“Blood came out of his mouth, his nose and his ear and was all over his coat,” he told the court.

Today Gda Rigney told the jury of six women and six men that on December 18, 2006 he received a call from DJ Byrne who said: “I'm after hitting Eddie Dempsey, I think he needs an ambulance.”

On arrival at Hammer Lane, Garda Rigney said DJ Byrne approached him saying “I'm in trouble guard.”

Garda Rigney then read to the court a statement that DJ Byrne gave to him at the scene.

“Eddie Dempsey came to the gate of our yard... me and the brother were inside. I told Eddie not to come in.” DJ Byrne said he told Mr Dempsey not to come in on four occasions, but he said the farmer told him he was coming in to get this heifer before “pushing the gate into me and the brother”.

It was after that that DJ Byrne claims Mr Dempsey insulted his daughter. He said the deceased looked at him after entering the yard and said “there's bad breeding there, I can see it in the eyes.”

The accused told Garda Rigney that he “ took it” to refer to his daughter who has Down's Syndrome.

He said he asked Mr Dempsey if that was what he was referring to, and that Mr Dempsey replied “ya, you can see it in the eyes".

The accused said he then picked up the handle of a shovel and hit Mr Dempsey on the knee, but he “still kept coming forward...I swung again and struck him… I had hit him before I knew what happened… I hit him on the side of the head I think.”

Another garda who attended at the scene, Sergeant Graham Rowley, recalled that DJ Byrne said to him: “Where do I stand now guard? I don't really care if I have to go to court, I have to go to court.”

The court was also read a transcript of the interview that DJ Byrne gave to detectives after he had been arrested in January 2007. It heard that the accused told gardaí that the Dempsey's cattle would get in to his land once or twice a week.

He said it happened on a regular basis but that he gave up reporting the incidents to the gardaí around a year before the incident at Hammer Lane. Mr Byrne told gardaí that “everyone on the lane had the same experience… if the people of the lane weren't intimidated we'd all stand up. Fear is not a nice thing.”

During his interview, the accused also said that any time there were complications with Mr Dempsey, he would tell him he was going to report it to the gardaí.

“He'd say go ahead” Mr Byrne said “He made out like he had an inside contact.”

The trial resumes tomorrow before Mr Justice George Birmingham.