Pensioner found dead was ‘unrecognisable’
A GARDA witness has described to a jury the moment she found the body of a 79-year-old widower, “severely beaten” to the point where he was “unrecognisable”.
A witness also told the Central Criminal Court murder trial yesterday that accused Thomas Lorigan told him he had a row with his uncle the night before the body was found.
Lorigan, 34, of no fixed abode has pleaded not guilty to murdering 79-yearold John O’neill in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, on a date unknown between January 6 and 7, 2022.
The trial has heard that Lorigan was known by the nickname “Mossy” in the Clare area and was the deceased’s nephew.
The trial has heard that Mr O’neill, who lived alone, had run a bed and
at his home at St Brendan’s Road along with his wife, who passed away in 2021.
It is the prosecution’s case that the pensioner died after a vicious attack by his nephew, who they submit had repeatedly kicked him to the head while wearing steel capped boots.
Giving evidence, Garda Louise Keogh told the court she was on duty at 8.06am on January 7 when she received a call to check the welfare of the owner of O’neills B&B due to an altercation the previous night. The garda said there was
no answer at the front door but could see a light on in the kitchen area.
When Gda Keogh looked through frosted glass at the back of the house she could see a person lying on the ground.
She found a man lying on the ground when they gained entry by breaking a window. She said: “He was lifeless, severely beaten and there was blood at the top around his head. The man was unrecognisable and there was a broken vase beside his head.”
Witness Walter Burke, 56, told the court that he lived alone in Lisdoonbreakfast varna and got to know the accused man in a local pub in the weeks leading up to Christmas in 2021.
Mr Burke said the defendant returned to his house before midnight and told him that he had “a row with somebody”.
He added: “I didn’t pay much attention to it, I thought it was an argument and that was it.”
Defence counsel Michael Bowman put it to the witness that Lorigan hadn’t arrived at his house until before midnight on January 6 and was not in his house during the day. The witness disagreed with this.
The defence barrister said the accused’s instructions were that no conversations took place with Mr Burke that night or the following morning. The witness again disagreed.
The trial continues.