Murder accused 'was climbing ex-girlfriend's house'
A Limerick man, accused of stabbing a 59-year-old man to death, was climbing on the roof of his ex-girlfriend's house on the night of the death, a Central Criminal Court jury has heard.
Joseph 'Jody' Bustin, 21, of Towerfield, Croom, Co Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Liam O'Donovan at St Senan's Terrace in the village on November 4, 2006.
Mr David Begley told Mr John Aylmer, SC, prosecuting that he had been waiting for his sister to return from a local disco at around 4am.
He said he rang his sister when she wasn't home at almost 4am. She told him she had been involved in an accident on the way home and would be delayed.
Some time after 4am, he heard a noise outside and went to investigate. He said he could see a figure on the slanted roof who shone their mobile phone onto their face to identify themselves. He immediately recognised him as the accused who had previously gone out with his sister.
"He told me that himself and my sister had a bit of a fall out. He just wanted to apologise."
Mr Begley said his only concern was to get Mr Bustin off the roof quickly. "I got him down as quick as I could because I didn't want the parents to know there was someone on the roof."
He agreed with Mr Brendan Nix SC, defending, that Mr Bustin had been slurring his words at the time but said he "wasn't drunk enough that he couldn't climb the roof."
Earlier, the jury had heard from Ms Grace Lynch who met the accused at a disco earlier that night. She told Mr Aylmer they talked for about ten minutes and Mr Bustin gave her his phone number.
She said she saw him again as she was driving off in a taxi at around 3am. He was standing outside the disco.
Ms Natasha Renouf told the court she gave Mr Bustin a lift back to Croom village arriving at about 4am. She offered to drop him to his door but he opted to get out at the car in the centre of the village where several of his friends were gathered at a fountain.
She said that Mr Bustin would have been drinking that night but didn't seem particularly drunk. "He was just happy and in a good mood."
The jury also heard a statement from Mr O'Donovan's brother, Vincent. He told gardaí that he had met his brother the night of his death for a few drinks. Mr O'Donovan had arrived at the pub at around midnight and they had left together at around 1.30am.
They discussed their mother's memorial mass which was to be held that weekend. Mr O'Donovan drank two pints.
Vincent told gardaí his brother had worked in Roches' Feeds in Limerick for the past eight years as a book keeper.
Mr Joseph Bustin Snr told Mr Aylmer his son had been out on the night of the incident. He had come back to the house at around 10.15pm to collect more money before going out again. Mr Bustin said he next saw his son at 6.30am the following morning.
He told Mr Nix in cross examination Jody had got into some trouble with gardaí about five or six years previously but had not been in any since. He had been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of eight.
In his opening statement, Mr Aylmer told the jury that the State would ascertain that Mr O'Donovan had been stabbed once in the chest when he caught someone breaking into his house.
The Deputy State Pathologist would tell them that the wound penetrated his chest to a depth of 17cms, puncturing a lung and slicing through the heart. He was found at around 7.30am the following morning, lying on the pavement outside his house wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt.
The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul Carney and the jury of six men and six women.
