Hospital murder trial begins
The trial of a 50-year-old man accused of stabbing a seriously ill man to death as he lay in his hospital bed has begun at the Central Criminal Court.
Mr Patrick Gilraine (otherwise known as Kilraine) of Basin St flats, Dublin 8 has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Kevin Dowler (52) at St James’s Hospital, Dublin on February 7, 2000.
Opening the prosecution’s case, Mr Shane Murphy SC told the jury that the accused was concerned that the imminent release of Mr Dowler from hospital "might pose a threat to a child or children in the Basin Street flats area".
The victim was homosexual and Mr Gilraine’s concerns related in particular to one boy "that he believed was being targeted by Mr Dowler", counsel continued.
The two men knew each other socially as they both lived in the Basin Street flats area of Dublin 8, although Gilraine is a native of Arigna, Co Roscommon.
"The accused man visited Mr Dowler on the afternoon of February 7 and expressed his concerns about his release to a social worker at the hospital," Mr Murphy said.
Following this he went home and returned to the hospital armed with a steak knife.
"There was a confrontation in the course of which the accused stabbed Kevin Dowler seven times, with two fatal wounds to the lung and liver," Mr Murphy said.
"From the evidence you will hear, the accused admitted to gardai that he stabbed Mr Dowler and explained that he was concerned about Mr Dowler’s conduct towards young men and boys," he said.
"His primary concern was that Mr Dowler be kept in hospital and didn’t return to the Basin Street flats area," he added.
The trial, which is due to last for a week, continues before Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins and a jury of seven men and five women.
