Man found guilty of murdering Polish mechanics with screwdriver
A 19-year-old man has today been found guilty of murdering two Polish mechanics by stabbing them in their heads with a screwdriver.
Pawel Kalite (aged 28) and Marius Szwajkos (aged 27) died after being stabbed through their heads on February 23, 2008 outside their home on Benbulben Road, Drimnagh.
David Curran (aged 19) of Lissadel Green, Drimnagh had pleaded not guilty to murdering the men in their front garden but guilty to their manslaughter on the defence of provocation.
His 21-year-old co-accused was found not guilty of the double murder. Seán Keogh of Vincent Street West, Inchicore had been charged with the crime on the grounds of joint enterprise. However he was found guilty of assault causing harm to one of the men.
The Central Criminal Court jury of eight women and four men took almost six hours to reach the majority verdict following a trial that lasted more than three weeks.
It heard that Mr Kalite was in a row with an unnamed teenaged boy outside the Drimnagh Take Away on Benbulben Road shortly before 6.30pm that Saturday. David Curran’s father and two unnamed teenaged girls also became involved before the row ended and Mr Kalite went home.
Curran claimed that he spent the day drinking alcohol and taking drugs with Seán Keogh and the other teenagers, although he had committed to a community detox programme at the time.
He said he started the day by going to the off-licence at 10am and getting vodka and cans. He said he shared this with some of the others and later drank alco-pops, smoked cannabis and took at least 15 benzodiazepine tablets.
He said he was ‘robbing’ with Keogh at a factory in Inchicore while the three teenagers and his father were fighting with Mr Kalite at the chipper.
The jury did not believe Curran’s story that the teenaged boy rang him and told the lie that his father had been stabbed. This boy did not give evidence.
Phone records showed that one of the girls rang Curran and she confirmed this to the court, testifying that she told him there was a fight, but did not mention his father.
Curran and Keogh made their way to the chipper. Curran had a screwdriver that he found in a moped he had stolen earlier. He attacked an occupied car, but was told: “It’s not them”.
In the meantime, Mr Kalite had told his flatmates what had happened. They wanted him to stay indoors but he walked outside shortly before 6.45pm as the five teenagers came running towards the house.
Kamila Szeremata said she was standing beside Mr Kalite as David Curran swung at her with the screw driver, that she ducked and he stabbed Mr Kalite. Seán Keogh told gardaí that he kicked Mr Kalite in his face as he fell. Within seconds Curran stabbed Marius Szwajkos as he moved towards his fallen friend.
The five teenagers fled, leaving Ms Szeremata and her brother Radek with the victims, who never regained consciousness and died in hospital within days.
The state pathologist explained that Mr Kalite sustained two stab wounds to his left temple, one which penetrated his skull and did irreparable damage to his brain. He also had broken teeth.
Dr Marie Cassidy said Mr Swajkos was stabbed through the left temple, skull and brain. He also had a fracture to the right side of his skull, consistent with falling to the ground after being stabbed.
David Curran and one of the girls sent each other a large number of unrelated text messages that evening in what they admitted was an attempt to cover up.
However a few of the text messages referred to the events, with the girl drafting an alibi for them shortly after midnight. Gardaí seized her phone the following morning, while Curran went on the run.
Keogh burned his blood-stained runners that evening and initially denied involvement but eventually told gardaí about kicking Mr Kalite in the head after his ‘mate’ stabbed him. He did not name the assailant.
When Curran was found, he also initially denied involvement but eventually named Keogh as the stabber. He admitted the stabbings and pleaded guilty to manslaughter three weeks ago when the jury was being sworn in to try him.
Curran claimed that, believing that the victims had stabbed his father, he was provoked by them shouting in their garden and by Marius Szwajkos moving from his door to his gate.
He claimed that he was provoked to such an extent that he suddenly and totally lost control of himself and was no longer able to restrain himself.
The jury did not accept this. The 12 members reached a unanimous verdict on the count of murdering Pawel Kalite and a majority verdict of 11 to one on the count of his murdering Marius Szwajkos.
The jury was not satisfied that Keogh was in a joint enterprise with Curran, that he knew he had a screwdriver going into the fight or that he might use it to kill or cause serious injury.
The jury was unanimous in its decision to acquit him of murdering both men.
However, Keogh will be sentenced later this month for assaulting Mr Kalite, causing him harm, by kicking him in the head.
Pawel Kalite’s sister, Agnieszka Kalite, wept silently as the verdicts were read out. She was comforted by her brother’s old boss.
Several of Keogh’s family members also became emotional and smiled over at him as he sat in the dock.
Curran eventually broke down in tears too and was comforted by his legal team, with none of his family and supporters in court to hear the verdict or see him being led away.
He will be sentenced tomorrow morning after the court hears a victim impact statement.
Mr Justice Liam McKechnie thanked the 12 jurors and exempted them from jury service for life.
