The brother of a drug user who denies murdering a drug dealer whose body was left in a wardrobe for four days, became fearful when three men came to his parents' home and later phoned him looking for the accused and asking about "dead bodies", a court has heard.
Alan Caffrey said a man he did not know phoned him and asked if his brother Dean, the accused man, had "answers to questions" four days after drug dealer Sean McCarthy had last been seen. The witness said he became fearful for his family and resolved to find Dean and get him to a Garda station.
Dean Caffrey would later that day go to Ashbourne Garda Station in Co Meath and tell gardaí that Mr McCarthy's body could be found in a wardrobe in his home.
Prosecution counsel Kathleen Noctor SC has previously told the jury that Mr Caffrey also told gardaí that the deceased had come to his apartment with a gun, accused him of stealing heroin and threatened him that he would "leave in a body bag" if he didn't pay him €5,000.
During a struggle, Mr Caffrey said he managed to secure the firearm and discharged it in the direction of the deceased, inflicting the fatal wound.
However, the prosecution intends to prove that Mr Caffrey intended to kill or cause serious injury when he discharged the firearm and that he is guilty of murder.
The jury has heard that Mr McCarthy was known to gardaí as a drug dealer in the Ballymun area.
Dean Caffrey of Beaucort, Achill Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sean McCarthy on a date between August 2nd and 7th, 2022, both dates inclusive, in the State.
Alan Caffrey told defence counsel Lorcan Staines SC that Dean was "always the runt of the family", smaller than his two brothers, unable to stand up for himself and in need of someone to look after him. "But he could use his humour," the witness added. "People liked him because of his humour."
He described Dean as a joker and good company but his attitude changed over the years when his drug abuse became "serious". The witness said he felt guilty that there had been distance between them while Dean fell into drug addiction. "It was hidden," he added. "It was only really when it was massive that it was exposed and I was surprised I didn't cop it a lot earlier."
Dean attempted suicide and was treated at a residential centre for addiction. The accused's relationship with his partner was "rocky" but he wanted to give her and their daughter a better life, the witness said.
On April 25th, 2022 Dean was stabbed. The witness said Dean wouldn't tell him what happened but he feared it was related to drugs. After the stabbing, Mr Caffrey noticed that Dean began wearing baseball caps in public and spoke about being in fear when he was out, but wouldn't say why.
Despite his brother's drug use, Mr Caffrey said Dean was "functioning," and worked in various jobs. He had worked as a delivery driver and began working at Dublin Airport a few weeks before the death of Mr McCarthy.
CCTV
On August 6th, when Mr McCarthy's body had been in Dean Caffrey's apartment for four days, the witness said he became aware of "fellas around the place" at his parents' home. His sister was frantic with fear so Mr Caffrey logged onto the home CCTV system.
He saw the three men and when he listened to what they were saying, he said he found it "strange", knew it was a "heavy situation" and decided he needed to "find Dean and sort this out, it was frightening".
Mr Caffrey couldn't get Dean on the phone and later received a call from a man saying he was one of the people who had been at the family home. The call, Mr Caffrey said, left him "in fear for Dean". "I had to try and get the police to find Dean," he said.
While nothing threatening was said on the phone, Mr Caffrey said it was "highly alerting", included "talk about dead bodies", and the man wanted to know if Dean had "answers to questions".
Mr Caffrey said he told the man on the phone that if he found his brother, "the only place I'm going is to a police station."
The witness met up with his father, Alan Snr, and they travelled to Finglas Garda Station to report Dean missing. While they were there, Mr Caffrey said he received a phone call from his sister who told him things that gave rise to "serious concerns" and left him in fear for his family.
A short time later, Dean rang to say he was in Ashbourne so Mr Caffrey and his father travelled to meet him. They spoke to Dean in his car for five to ten minutes and then went with him to the nearby garda station. "It felt like relief getting into the station once we got there," he said.
The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven men and five women.
