Dubliner who shot uncle dead claims he got into bed with him when he was young
A Dubliner who shot his uncle dead told Gardaí that the deceased had got into bed with him when he was a child.
A jury heard the evidence in the murder trial of father-of-one David Cully, who has admitted killing Edward O’Connor by shooting him in his back.
The 24-year-old claimed he shot him "in the heat of the moment" after Mr O’Connor commented about somebody who had made an allegation of sexual abuse against him (the deceased).
The court heard that the allegation was investigated, but the DPP had decided not to prosecute.
Cully of Kilshane Road, Finglas West has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 41-year-old but guilty to his manslaughter at Ballycoolin Road, Finglas West on Sunday, December 15, 2013.
He is currently on trial at the Central Criminal Court, where Detective Sergeant Gavin Ross has been giving evidence of interviews conducted with him following his arrest.
The detective testified that Cully told interviewers that he and his uncle had attended a fist fight between two other men at his grandparents’ yard on Ballycoolin Road that day. Each was there to support a different participant.
The accused said that they were going their separate ways afterwards, when his uncle told him to "tell the red pox I was asking for her".
Cully said that the deceased was referring to the complainant of sexual abuse and that he had said it to rile him up.
The Gardaí put it to him that his reaction, shooting him, was excessive.
“If everybody in the world reacted like you did, what kind of world would this be?” asked one detective.
“Yeah, but not everyone got sexually abused,” replied Cully.
He was asked what he meant.
“I mean me,” he responded.
He said that he hadn’t actually been sexually abused, but claimed that his uncle had tried to get into his bed when he was younger.
“I got out,” he said.
The trial had already heard that Cully had fired a shot into the air during the fist fight in the yard, when a third person tried to get involved.
Detectives questioned him in interview about the likelihood that his uncle had made the ‘red pox’ comment to him, knowing that he had a gun.
“He made one smart comment and made a dash for his car,” said the accused.
“While he was moving away to his car, you shot him in the back,” remarked a detective.
“I meant to shoot him in the legs. I didn’t mean to shoot him in the back,” replied Cully.
The Gardaí put it to him that his uncle had not said anything, but the accused insisted that he had.
The officers suggested that he had planned the shooting and had gone to the fight with a purpose.
“No-one brings a gun to a fist fight,” they said.
However, Cully said he hadn’t planned it and was walking away when he heard the remark.
In another interview, they told him that his story about finding the gun in a dump was unbelievable. He told them to believe what they wanted.
They also referred to his story about chopping up the gun with a hacksaw after the shooting.
“Come on, David,” they said.
“That’s what happened,” he replied.
The jury then watched a video of Cully showing investigators around the scene of the shooting, pointing out where the fist fight had taken place and where he had shot his uncle.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Carroll Moran and a jury of seven women and five men.
