Jury hears triple-0 call

Man’s injuries detailed in murder trial

A LAUNCESTON man was displaying “very severe head injuries” and was not breathing when an ambulance arrived at a Summerhill address in 2016, a Supreme Court murder trial in Launceston heard.

Paramedic Amanda Hutchinson said Peter John Fitzgerald, 56, displayed no vital signs when she examined him at his Kerry Court unit just after 1.43am on December 1, 2016.

“It was fairly obvious that he had very severe head injuries and brain matter was evident,” Ms Hutchinson said under examination yesterday from Crown prosecutor Jackie Hartnett.

Anthony Colin Finnegan, 36, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Fitzgerald.

The jury heard a harrowing, 18-minute, triple-0 call in which Cameron Tattersall told the operator that Mr Fitzgerald had been assaulted and was not breathing at all.

However, under instruction from the operator he applied CPR and attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation until the ambulance arrived.

Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Finnegan had been drinking with another man when a fight broke out after 10pm.

It is alleged Mr Finnegan stomped on and kicked Mr Fitzgerald.

The jury has heard that prosecutors do not believe Mr Finnegan meant to kill Mr Fitzgerald but ought to have known applying the force he did was likely to cause death.

Prosecutors told the jury that after the fight Mr Finnegan left for a nearby address but rang a friend to say he had “f … ed Fitzy up”.

A taxi driver told the jury that one of his passengers was aggressive in the hours before the alleged murder.

Rotem Erlich said he had picked up two men from Kerry Court about 10pm.

Mr Erlich said an older, fair haired passenger, identified in court through taxi surveillance footage as Mr Fitzgerald, had been aggressive throughout a trip to buy alcohol.

“Just before he got out he said to me ‘ I’m going to punch you in the face because you are a f...wit’,” Mr Erlich told the jury.

Mr Erlich said the other man in the taxi, Mr Finnegan, was friendly and trying to make up for the older passenger’s behaviour.

He said the older man said to a third man who remained at the unit and did not go on the alcohol buying mission “if you touch anything I will kill you”.

The trial continues tomorrow.