Murder accused 'never meant to kill' victim, court hears
The ex-girlfriend of a man accused of murder testified today that he telephoned her and said he and others only went to the victim’s house for money and never meant to kill him.
28-year-old Patrick Walsh was found lying on his own bed with 13 stab wounds after he was murdered during a robbery, it was claimed at the opening of the first murder trial in Cork city in the history of the State.
Frank Cunningham, 20, from 71 Bridevalley View, Fairhill, Cork, faces a charge of murdering Patrick Walsh at the deceased’s home at 62 Fair Hill Drive, Cork, between 9.30pm on May 26 2004 and 5am on May 27 2004 contrary to common law and robbery of cash from the late Mr Walsh.
“The motive for the murder was robbery, a sum of cash was stolen from the deceased,” Denis Vaughan Buckley senior counsel for the prosecution said at the opening of the case at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.
Laura Heaphy testified that her then boyfriend, Frank Cunningham, telephoned her and asked her to go to a hotel.
“I asked him why he wanted me to go, what was wrong. He told me about Patrick Walsh, that him (Cunningham) and two other fellas went to the house for money, that they killed him but they didn’t mean to,” Ms Heaphy, who is aged around 19, said.
Mr Vaughan Buckley asked: “Did he say what they did to Mr Walsh?”
She replied: “They stabbed him.”
“Did he say he got anything?” he asked.
“He got €350 out of the house,” Ms Heaphy replied.
Cross-examined by Ciaran O’Loughlin SC on the evidence that “they stabbed him”, Ms Heaphy said, from what she said Cunningham told her in the call, that “He (Cunningham) stabbed him once and the other fellas stabbed him.”
The dead man’s brother, Thomas, said his brother’s bedroom door was usually kept locked.
On the night of the killing, Thomas Walsh was woken by his mother at around 5am.
There was no answer from knocking on Patrick’s door.
Thomas went out of the house and got in to Patrick’s room through a window which was wide open at the time.
He saw his brother, Patrick, lying on the bed covered in blood, Mr Vaughan Buckley said.
His sisters, Vicky, Demelza, and Olivia, and his mother, Helen, gave similar evidence of seeing the deceased lying on his back on his own bed covered in blood.
Garda Thomas Moynihan, received a call from the family and was told Patrick Walsh’s throat had been cut.
Seven men and five women were sworn in to hear the case at the courthouse on Washington Street.
It is estimated that the case could go on for two weeks.
The trial of Frank Cunningham continues in Cork tomorrow.
