Forensic witness gives evidence in murder trial
A forensic witness in the Central Criminal Court trial of a Co Louth man accused of stabbing another man in the neck with a shard of glass has said that blood-stained clothing belonging to the accused could have been consistent with him checking the victim's pulse.
Gregory Conway (aged 36) of no fixed abode denies the murder of Mr Liam "Limbo" Murphy, also known as Liam Maguire, in the deceased man's house in Woodview Terrace, Dundalk, Co Louth on June 15 or June 16 last year.
Dr Diane Daly told Mr Giollaíosa O Lideadha, defending, blood staining on the Mr Conway's tracksuit bottoms and on the back of his t-shirt could have been caused by him sitting on the bed near to the victim's head to check his pulse.
She agreed with Mr O Lideadha that she had been told that Mr Conway was the main suspect and conducted tests accordingly. She had not been looking for an alternative scenario.
She agreed that it would have been possible, given the pattern of arterial gushing on the wall behind the bed, that the killer might not have had a substantial amount of blood on them.
Mr O Lideadha suggested that if the killer had wrapped the glass shard in cloth there would have been a copious amount of blood of their hand especially under the fingernails. Dr Daly agreed that none of the victim's DNA had been found on samples of Mr Conway's fingernails.
She said that bloodstains found on a top belonging to previous witness Mr David Bibby were airborne but agreed with Mr Edward Comyn SC, prosecuting, that airborne bloodstains could be caused in a number of ways.
She also agreed with Mr O Lideadha that a bloodstained curtain found in the room could have been used to wrap the knife even though there were no cuts and that using such a large piece of material would have protected the person with the knife from major blood staining.
She also said that a straight-edged blood stain found on jeans belonging to a third man in the house could have been caused by pressing against a straight edged object of a wiping movement of a long narrow object.
She agreed that blood stains on a t-shirt belonging to the same man could be consistent with wiping something.
Dr Linda Williams, also a forensic scientist told Mr O Lideadha that she had not tested bloodstains on a sock belonging to Mr Bibby because she had been told that the sock was not being worn at the time of the incident.
The jury also heard from Mr Terry Miles who told Mr Comyn that he had met the accused and Mr Bibby when they had called to his family home and asked his sister for a change of clothes.
He said he gave the accused clothes and went with him to change. He said the accused asked him to burn his clothes but he refused. "I said I have nothing got to do with it."
He said the accused told him he had killed Mr Murphy: "He said he was just after killing him. I didn't want anything to do with it."
Mr Miles said Mr Bibby then told him Mr Murphy had refused to give them money for drink: "He said he should have given us the money. We wouldn't have had to torture him."
He told Mr O Lideadha that Mr Conway had not said "he is just after killing him" and said that Mr Conway had said that he killed Mr Murphy.
The trial will continue tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul Carney and the jury of 10 women and two men.
