Son accused of murder 'reclusive'
The father of a young man accused of strangling his mother to death has told the Central Criminal Court that his son became very reclusive while in mid teens.
Giving evidence on the second day of the trial of Damien Donnan, aged 20, for the murder of his mother Jennifer, Mr Daniel Donnan said his son would sit all day in front of the TV, refuse to eat or wash and did not seem to care about himself.
"Damien at 17 or 18 looked like someone of 14." Pointing to the frail frame of his son in court, he said: "He was like a rasher."
Damien Donnan of De Valera Park, Thomondgate, Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mrs Jennifer Donnan at the family home on 17 April 2000. The jury has heard that the victim was strangled to death in a row over a cigarette.
Mr Daniel Donnan agreed with defence counsel that his son's behaviour coincided with the break up of his marriage to the deceased. He said he had moved out of the family home but called regularly to see his estranged wife and their three sons.
The witness told the jury that each time he called, Damien would "be sitting in the same chair all day long watching TV". He had tried to take him with him to work a few times, but as soon as he was in the car he wanted to get out.
The accused was prescribed medication, sleeping tablets and anti-depressants, but refused to take them. Asked by defence counsel Patrick Gageby SC of his son's behaviour had an effect on his late wife, he replied: "I'd say she was under a lot of strain."
Mr Donnan agreed that Jennifer Donnan began to drink heavily as a result of the strain. Asked if he had been hospitalised as a result of injuries inflicted by his late wife, he replied: "a couple of times"
He also agreed that the accused would have witnessed some of these incidents.
Mr Donnan said however, that in the year before her death, he and his wife "were talking pretty well." He had visited the family home the evening before her death and everything seemed fine. "We were laughing and joking," he told the jury.
The trial continues.
