Mother-of-two Lisa Thompson, who was stabbed 11 times in the chest, was dealing prescription drugs from her home and once gave a neighbour €20,000 to "hold onto" in case her house was raided by gardaí, a witness has told a murder trial.
In her opening speech, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions Fiona Murphy SC said Ms Thompson's body was found inside the door of her home with multiple stab wounds to the chest and a window blind cord wrapped around the neck.
She said the 12 jurors would hear that a mixed DNA profile was found on the blind cord, to which the accused man could not be excluded as a minor contributor.
Brian McHugh (40), with an address at Cairn Court, Poppintree, Ballymun in Dublin 11, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Ms Thompson (52) at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun in Dublin 11 on May 9th, 2022.
Giving evidence to the trial on Thursday, neighbour and friend Sandra McMahon told Ms Murphy that Ms Thompson was dealing prescription drugs from her house - namely 'Zimovane' sleeping tablets - and would sell a tray for €15.
She said the deceased had only a few select customers and did not really trust people. She said Ms Thompson was very private and kept the tablets in a bag, which hung off the side of her bed.
Ms McMahon said Ms Thompson had cleared the tablets out of her house for fear the guards would raid it. The witness said she knew about Ms Thompson's friend 'Brian', whom she described as friendly.
She said she had met him once at another neighbour's house and was aware he and Ms Thompson had what she described as a "one-night thing".
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC, Ms McMahon said Ms Thompson would supply 'Benzos' [Benzodiazepines] and 'Zimovane' to people. The witness said she had told a garda that Ms Thompson had a large amount of tablets in her attic.
She also confirmed she had told gardaí that Ms Thompson gave a neighbour €20,000 to hold onto in case her house was raided by gardaí.
Ms McMahon also agreed she had told gardaí in her statement that Ms Thompson's "drug dealing business" was generally done on the phone and that customers would call to her house.
Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan, who conducted a post mortem on Ms Thompson on May 11th that year, told the prosecutor she was informed by gardaí that the deceased was separated, had two children and was unemployed.
She said gardaí also told her that Ms Thompson's friend had entered Sandyhill Gardens on May 10th as the back door was unlocked and found her lying on the floor in the living room.
Multiple stab wounds
Dr Mulligan said a window blind cord was around the deceased's neck and there were multiple stab wounds to the left of the chest in the area above where the heart is located.
Ms Thompson was wearing a pair of black shorts and a vest top, which had ten slit-like defects over the left side of the chest. Blood was oozing from the nose and mouth.
Describing the ligature cord, the witness said it was at the back of the neck and crossed over at the front. The free end appeared torn and was dangling over the front of the neck. She said the maximum width of the cord was 2 mms, which is quite thin. It had caused a ligature mark around the neck.
The expert witness said there was significant blood-staining over the left side of the chest and the back of the vest. There were 11 stab wounds to the left side on the front of the chest.
She said there were six penetrating wounds to the heart and two went through and through. There were two penetrating wounds to the lung and one went through and through.
She said the wounds were all oriented either horizontal or slightly diagonal and ranged in size from 1.5cm to 1.9cm. All the stab wounds had a blunt lateral end and a pointed medial end.
The majority of the stab wounds had entered the chest cavity and were caused by a knife-shaped object with a single sharp edge. The blade was at least 16cm long, she added.
Dr Mulligan pointed out there was no evidence of trauma or injury to the vagina.
The post-mortem bloods showed evidence of antidepressants, an antipsychotic drug, Benzodiazepine and a sleeping tablet. She said a combination of the multiple sedative drugs may have affected the deceased's reaction but she may also have had some tolerance for them.
Dr Mulligan said it was difficult to tell whether the ligature strangulation or the multiple stab wounds to the chest had occurred first. There were bruises on the scalp which were most likely sustained from a struggle or assault.
In conclusion, the pathologist said Ms Thompson's death occurred because of a combination of ligature strangulation causing asphyxia and multiple stab wounds to the left side of the chest.
Under cross-examination, Dr Mulligan agreed with Mr Grehan that she had found two very different sets of injuries; a ligature around the neck and a cluster of stab wounds located on the left side of the chest in the area of the heart and over the lung.
She agreed both sets of injuries were acute events and had occurred at the same time but said it was impossible to tell which was the final action in this case.
Dr Mulligan told Mr Grehan that people can survive attempted strangulations but survival was not possible with stab injuries of this kind.
Asked whether it was possible to tell whether both injuries were inflicted by the same person, the witness said she could not tell from the examination.
She said the drugs present in the deceased's system were all prescription drugs.
Detective Garda Janette O'Neill said she went to Sandyhill Gardens on May 10th and gained access through the rear of the property, where the gate and back door were unlocked.
She found a small gold ring with stones in it at the rear gate, which was used as the main way into the house. She said the ligature around the neck appeared to be a drawstring which came from a blind on the back door.
She said the main bedroom was 'totally ransacked' and most of the contents from the wardrobe were on the floor. There was no sign of Ms Thompson's handbag or keys, she said.
Under cross-examination, the detective agreed with Mr Grehan that there was no sign of a break-in and someone had been admitted voluntarily into the house.
Dr Syed Shah said he confirmed Ms Thompson's death at 4:48pm on May 10th at Sandyhill Gardens.
The trial continues tomorrow before Ms Justice Karen O'Connor and a jury of eight men and four women.
