New Age traveller convicted of murder
One New Age traveller has been convicted of murder and two others of the manslaughter of a Portuguese national whose badly beaten body was discovered near a popular scenic beach last year.
After 10 hours of deliberations a jury convicted Stuart Spicer (aged 28) with an address at Ballyquin, c/o Ardmore Post Office of the murder of Sergio Abru at Clashanahy, Ardmore, Co Waterford between September 6 and 7, 2002.
Steven Job (aged 31) of Whiting Bay, Ardmore, Co Waterford and Graeme Turnbull (aged 36) with an address at Ballyhooley Rd, Cork were both found guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Abru.
After the verdict at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins imposed the mandatory life sentence on Stuart Spicer and refused leave to appeal. Steven Job and Graeme Turbull were remanded in custody for sentence on November 14.
During the 15-day trial the jury heard that one of the three, Stuart Spicer, had begun a relationship with the former partner of the deceased, Ms Miriam Rooney, at a time when Mr Abru was in prison on charges of assaulting her.
On September 6, one month after his release from prison, Sergio Abru was seen arguing with Miriam Rooney in Youghal, but later accompanied her and Spicer to a caravan park in Whiting Bay, Co Waterford.
The following morning Mr Abru's badly beaten body was discovered in a field nearby and the Deputy State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy identified "blunt force trauma" to the head as the cause of death. She said the deceased suffered thirteen separate blows to the head and face that resulted in a number of fractures to the skull and bleeding to the brain.
A trail of blood led the gardaí from the scene where Mr Abru died to the nearby caravans where the three New Age travellers resided. Spicer had fled the scene but was later arrested by gardaí in Wexford. In statements made to the gardaí while in custody the three admitted beating up Mr Abru but said they intended only to remove him from the campsite after he had insulted Miriam Rooney.
"Sergio got very aggressive towards Miriam [and her son]," Turnbull told gardaí. "We asked him to leave and I took him outside and we gave him a couple of slaps," he said. "We were just trying to get him to leave...a fight ensued and everyone got involved," he said.
"Sergio was physically dragged from the site and it was not until the next morning that we realised how serious his injuries were," he added.
Spicer told gardaí he was frightened of Mr Abru and alleged that he had previously threatened to kill him. He said he "saw red" when the fight broke out.
"He was pinned down but he was kicking away like a mad thing...he wasn't going to stop," he said. At this stage Job arrived from his caravan and also kicked and punched Mr Abru.
"I told him to get up and go, I didn't want him there because of what he'd done to Miriam, he's not a very nice person," Job said. "I kicked him to try to get him to move, to go," he added.
Dr Brid McBride, forensic scientist at the State Laboratory gave evidence that matched bloodstains on the clothing and footwear of the three accused with Mr Abru's blood. She said a steel iron bar recovered from the scene by gardaí was also "heavily bloodstained" with the deceased's blood.
In her evidence Dr Cassidy said that a weapon was used to cause the blunt force injury to the head and identified the bar, a footrest Spicer had removed from a bus, as the possible weapon used.
However, the pathologist said that such were the extent of Mr Abru's injures that it was unlikely he would have made a recovery if he had received medical intervention earlier.
Discharging the jury, Mr Justice O'Higgins thanked them for their care and attention and released them for further service for 15 years.
