A young man told his cousins that he had been stabbed by another man on the street in Mallow, Co Cork before he then collapsed, went unconscious and died, a prosecuting barrister has claimed.
Tyler ‘Tiggy’ Jackson (26), formerly of Ballydaheen West, Mallow, Co Cork, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Galway man Conor Quinn (24) on Bridge Street in Mallow on July 12th, 2018.
Prosecuting counsel Ray Boland SC gave an outline of the case to the jury of eight men and four women at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork on Wednesday.
He said Mr Quinn had travelled to Killavullen, Co Cork, from Galway the night before he died. On the day of the incident, he socialised with his cousins and uncle at the Cahirmee Horse Fair in Buttevant.
Mr Boland said members of the group left Buttevant and decided to stop off for food in Mallow, where they parked on Main Street.
“Conor Quinn spotted Tyler Jackson. Conor Quinn got out of his car and confronted Tyler Jackson – also known by his nickname ‘Tiggy’. They had some knowledge of each other in advance. There was some animosity between them, they were not friendly,” Mr Boland said.
He added the cause of the dispute was of no particular relevance to the case.
He said the first exchange between Mr Jackson and Mr Quinn occurred at 7.59pm, adding that it was the prosecution's case that a second interaction later occurred between the two men at 8.38pm.
“At 8.38pm, the deceased and his party were stopped in traffic on Bridge Street. The deceased was in the front (passenger) seat of the car. Conor Quinn spotted Tyler Jackson across the road. He left the car to confront Tyler Jackson. It was a physical confrontation, a scuffle between them.
“Tyler Jackson struck Conor Quinn once in the chest and ran away. The prosecution contention is that the strike was with a knife.
“It was a stab wound and that is the wound from which he died. I am sure that will be contested by the defence,” Mr Boland said.
“Conor Quinn went back to his companions and said to his cousins, ‘He is after stabbing me.’
“By coincidence, there was an ambulance also stopped in traffic. They went to the ambulance. He (Conor) collapsed, never regained consciousness and died,” counsel added.
Mr Boland said Mr Quinn was taken to Cork University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
He said the jury would hear evidence from assistant State pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster, who carried out the post-mortem examination on Mr Quinn's body which revealed he died of haemorrhage and shock with a partially collapsed lung resulting from a single stab wound to the thorax.
Mr Boland told the jury they have three verdicts available to them: not guilty of murder, guilty of murder, or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
He emphasised there was a presumption of innocence in the case and this would not change unless the jury found Mr Jackson guilty of murder or guilty of manslaughter at the end of the trial.
The trial continues on Thursday in front of Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and the jury. It is expected to last two weeks.
