A Dublin father-of-two died from a lack of oxygen to his brain after numerous blunt-force trauma injuries caused significant internal bleeding and a heart attack, a murder trial has been told.
The Central Criminal Court is hearing the case of Philip Disney (27) and Sean Carlyle (30), who deny murdering Vincent Parsons (34) at Killinarden Way, near the Killinarden Inn in Tallaght on August 26th, 2019.
Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, has said it is the State's case that the deceased had been drinking for several hours at a friend's stag do when he became "messy", started hugging people and began to irritate others in the Killinarden Inn before coming to the attention of accused man Mr Disney.
It is alleged there were then words between them and Mr Disney became irritated and agitated and could be seen on CCTV raising his arm and pointing at Mr Parsons before saying something to him. Mr Parsons then left the bar, counsel said.
Mr Staines said it is alleged that the two accused left the pub within minutes, got into a black van and then got out at a green area nearby where counsel said they beat Mr Parsons to death. Forty-eight seconds after stopping at the green area, they got back into the van and drove to Mr Carlyle's home, counsel said.
Mr Staines said the State's case is that Mr Carlyle changed his clothes, and the pair then left the van "off side" at a nearby housing estate and got a lift back to the pub where he said they could be seen returning on CCTV about 30 to 35 minutes after they had left.
Mr Carlyle, with an address at Donomore Avenue, Tallaght and Mr Disney of Donomore Crescent, Tallaght, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Parsons.
Pathologist
At the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Chief State Pathologist Linda Mulligan told Mr Staines that she conducted a post-mortem on Mr Parsons on August 28th, 2019 - the day after he was pronounced dead at Tallaght University Hospital.
Dr Mulligan said Mr Parsons was without a pulse on admission to the Emergency Department and was given adrenaline, after which his heartbeat returned.
However, Dr Mulligan said blood was obstructing Mr Parsons airways and that the level of oxygen in his system was between 80-90 per cent.
The witness said Mr Parsons had low blood pressure, a build-up of lactic acid, fixed pupils and was in a comatose state.
She said that, when admitted to hospital at 11.30pm, he had blood coming from his nose and ears.
Internal bleeding
The pathologist said Mr Parsons had to be put on dialysis treatment to clear a large amount of waste fluid from his system and that there had been "significant" internal bleeding. She said Mr Parsons had also suffered a broken nose and extensive bruising around his face due to 12 injuries he received. She said there had been fluid in Mr Parson's chest cavity and a "lot" of fluid in his lungs due internal bleeding.
Dr Mulligan said that Mr Parsons became "gravely ill" and suffered cardiac arrest before being pronounced dead at 7.20pm on August 26, 2019.
The pathologist said Mr Parsons had cocaine and alcohol in his system but that these were not contributory factors in his death, though he would have been "highly intoxicated" at the time.
She gave her cause of death as a hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which she said was a lack of oxygen to the brain due to the significant internal bleeding and cardiac arrest caused by the blunt force traumas.
Ms Mulligan noted that there were no defensive wounds on Mr Parson's hands or forearms and that the 12 facial injuries were caused by a minimum of "five or six" blows. Mr Parson's brother, Daniel, had earlier told the court that Vincent "would never start a fight with anyone. He could be a messy drunk but was never aggressive. There's not a bad bone in his body."
Dr Sibéal Waldron, of Forensic Science Ireland, said that a pair of shorts allegedly belonging to Mr Carlyle that were seized during a search had a drop of blood on them which she analysed.
DNA profile
Dr Waldron said this drop of blood generated a DNA profile of a male that matched Mr Parson's DNA. She said the odds on the DNA profile from the blood matching anyone else's was "one-thousand million to one".
The forensic scientist said that a T-shirt alleged to belong to Mr Carlyle which was also seized by gardaí hours after the alleged murder produced a DNA profile from blood spatter matching Mr Carlyle's own DNA profile.
Dr Waldron said it was not possible to extract a DNA profile from a watch seized by the gardaí from the van the prosecution say was in the possession of Mr Carlyle. Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Staines read into the record a statement from Mr Parson's mother identifying the watch as one she had bought as a Christmas present. In her statement she confirms the Christmas inscription of "To Dad, love Jade, Xmas 2011" referred to Mr Parson's and his daughter.
Detective Sergeant Shay Palmer said he executed a search warrant on Mr Disney's home on August 26, 2019 at around 5.50pm after meeting Mr Disney nearby.
Det Sgt Palmer said he explained to Mr Disney he had a warrant to search the house with which the accused said he had "no issue" and the two men went into the house. Mr Disney was asked for the clothes he was wearing on the night of the alleged murder and handed over a pair of shorts. However, the prosecution contends these are not the same shorts Mr Disney was wearing when captured on CCTV that night.
Mr Staines told Mr Justice Kerido Naidoo and the six men and women of the jury that the prosecution intends to close their case on Wednesday.
