A young man accused of murdering a 65-year-old who had taken him into his home told gardaí he only met the deceased once and didn't want anything to do with him because he looked like a "weird, strange old man".
Brian Ibe (23) told detectives following his arrest on suspicion of assaulting Peter Kennedy, that he didn't "know s**t" about what happened to the older man. He later said: "I know nothing about it, that's what I said in the beginning and I'm sticking to it."
Mr Ibe, of no fixed abode and formerly of Moore Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Mr Kennedy between April 28th and May 12th, 2020, both dates inclusive, in Newbridge.
He also pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to assault causing harm to Garda Brendan O’Donnell at Newbridge Garda Station on or about April 29th, 2020.
The jury has been told it is not contested that Mr Ibe carried out the fatal attack on Mr Kennedy. The prosecution contends that the accused was not “within the ingredients” of not guilty by reason of insanity or diminished responsibility and is not entitled to those special verdicts.
Outlining the proposed evidence last week, prosecution counsel Paul Carroll SC said it is not contested that Mr Ibe carried out the attack and that Mr Kennedy died as a result.
He said the deceased man, who had just turned 65 and was retired from the probation services, was “a kind person who would help people”.
The mother of the accused, Martha Ibe, had an issue with homelessness and came to live with Mr Kennedy, with her son moving into the same house around September 2019, when he was 19.
Mr Carroll said that problems arose prior to Christmas of 2019, with disputes between Mr Kennedy and the accused, so Mr Ibe left the house and came to Dublin, where he lived at a hostel run by the Peter McVerry Trust in Walkinstown.
Counsel said that on April 28th, 2020, the accused left the hostel and got a taxi to Newbridge, where he entered Mr Kennedy’s house through the rear after smashing a window.
Mr Carroll said that the accused’s mother, who was present at the time, would give evidence that the accused attacked Mr Kennedy with what she believed was a knife, making “jabbing motions”. She left to get assistance, and when gardaí arrived they found Mr Kennedy on the floor upstairs with serious head injuries lying in a pool of blood. He was brought to Beaumont Hospital but died from his injuries on May 12th, 2020.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, Det Gda Seamus Doyle told Mr Carroll that he was present when Sgt Kieran Bruce arrested Mr Ibe on April 29th, 2020 at the Walkinstown Hostel, one day after the alleged murder. Gardaí brought the accused to Newbridge Garda Station for questioning.
In his first interview, gardaí asked Mr Ibe if he had anything to say about why he had been arrested. He replied: "I don't know shit about that, I would like to know who reported me about it." He said he had been living in Dublin for a few months, having previously been homeless and sleeping rough in Newbridge.
He said he had met Mr Kennedy only once, some months earlier, when he got a taxi from Ballymun to Newbridge to see his mother. When he saw her, he said she was driving a car while "that weird fella you are talking about was in the passenger seat".
He added: "I just said, I'm not getting in the car. Your man was weird."
He said he didn't see his mother again and never met Mr Kennedy again. He said he didn't know where Mr Kennedy lived and wouldn't be interested in knowing. When pressed by gardaí on his impression of Mr Kennedy, he said: "He just looked like a weird, strange old man. I didn't want anything to do with him. I said I'd look after myself and I was able for it."
On the day of the alleged murder, Mr Ibe said he left the hostel in Walkinstown only once to go to a nearby Centra. On his way back, he said he fell and cut his hand and he showed the cut to gardaí. He didn't know the names of any of the staff who could confirm that he was there that day, he said.
The trial continues on Wednesday before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and the jury of six men and six women.
