I didn’t lie in account of one-punch killing, accused tells court
A CHEF from north Belfast accused of killing a 22-year-old man in a “one-punch” assault yesterday denied lying in a bid to save himself from the consequences of his actions.
The denial came as Lawrence Dowie took the witness stand at Belfast Crown Court, where he is on trial for the manslaughter Conan Anderson (22).
Mr Anderson, a football coach from Belfast’s Short Strand, fell backwards and hit his head off a pavement after he was punched on the jaw by Dowie during an altercation in Arthur’s Lane in the early hours of February 6 last year.
The victim was rendered unconscious for a period and then made his way home, but was rushed to hospital later that day.
He died 12 days later as a result of severe head injuries including a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
Dowie, whose address cannot be published due to a reporting restriction, has admitted punching Mr Anderson once but claimed he was acting in self-defence.
He claimed the punch was a reaction to the attack on him, that he didn’t have time to “weigh up options” and that he didn’t want to fight.
At one point, when he was asked if it would have been “much easier to run away”, 28-year-old Dowie said: “If I could have had time to think... I wish I had have.”
He also said the incident was a “terrible tragedy”.
Dowie maintained he only struck out once after Mr Anderson came at him first by headbutting him then throwing two punches which didn’t connect.
The jury has already heard that there was an altercation between Mr Anderson and Dowie at around 5.30am, when they left the AM:PM venue and were standing on the street.
Dowie said at this stage there was “just a bit of slagging” be- tween him and Mr Anderson, who allegedly then came over and his head connected with the bridge of the defendant’s nose. He claimed Mr Anderson then threw two punches.
Dowie said: “I swung one back. I didn’t have time to think. I just reacted. It was a panic swing to get him away from me. I believe it connected with his chin.”
He said that Mr Anderson fell back, and he panicked. “I didn’t know what to think. I helped him up off the ground,” he said.
Dowie said he did not think that Mr Anderson was injured and that he felt “terrible” when Mr Anderson passed away.
“I didn’t have time to think. This happened so quickly and I just reacted,” he added.
Prosecution lawyer Richard Weir QC rejected Dowie’s claim that he froze with panic and asked the accused why he told police the other man “tried to headbutt” him, when he was telling the jury the headbutt connected.
Dowie said that when he made the comment to police, “my head was all over the place. My nerves were wrecked”.
Dowie also denied a claim by the lawyer that he was “happy to fight” with Mr Anderson that night.
The trial is due to resume next week.