Victim ‘grossly drunk’ - doctor

MARTIN Kivlehan was “grossly drunk” and likely to have been incapacitated when he was stabbed to death in his home, a pathologist told the murder trial.

Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis told the trial of Keith Brady (31) from Carton Estate in Sligo that the deceased was stabbed twice in the neck.

One of the wounds cut the carotid artery and would have led to death within minutes.

Brady has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Kivlehan but guilty to manslaughter between August 2 and August 3 2015 at Mr Kivlehan’s home.

Dr Curtis told prosecuting counsel Paul Murray SC that a toxicology report showed that Mr Kivlehan had 415mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, more than eight times the legal limit for driving.

Dr Curtis said such a level can be lethal but he agreed with Brendan Grehan SC, defending, that people who drink regularly have a higher tolerance.

He said a common term for his condition would be “legless” and added that he was likely to have been “incapacitated”, “grossly drunk” and, “at least greatly impaired”.

Dr Curtis further noted that the deceased had no defensive wounds. In his report he noted bruises to Mr Kivlehan’s face, arms and scalp.

The deceased died from two stab wounds on either side of the front of his neck. One went to a depth of 7.8cm, injured muscles in the throat and, although it missed the major veins and arteries, would be fatal without medical intervention.

The second went to a depth of 9cm and transected the carotid artery, which brings fresh blood from the heart to the brain.

He described this as a “non-survivable wound” which would have led to death within a few minutes, but not immediately.

The pathologist was shown two knives gardai found at the scene. One, a steak-knife with a serrated edge and a 12cm blade, was found on Mr Kivlehan’s body with the blade pointing across his neck and the wooden handle resting underneath his hand in what other witnesses have said appeared to be a “staged” position.

The second knife was found on a counter in the kitchen and had a straight blade 20cm long. The deceased’s blood was found on both knives.

Dr Curtis said the second knife was the more likely to have caused the fatal wounds to Mr Kivlehan’s neck. He agreed with Mr Grehan that he could not rule out the steak knife as the possible cause of the injuries.

Mr Murray read out a statement by Padraig Kennedy, a Sacristan at St Joseph’s Church in Sligo, who said a man and woman came to the church at about 7pm on August 2, 2015.

The woman was caught on CCTV stealing a bag of foreign coins. Lukasz Biliski was working in a Topaz garage on the Bundoran Road in Sligo that same evening and remembered Keith Brady and his sister Janice coming in with a large bag of foreign coins.

Rebecca Cawley told Mr Murray that she was working in a Mace beside Matt Kivlehan’s home. He came in that evening and bought two 2-litre bottles of Linden Village cider at about 5pm.

He was wearing a black t-shirt, loose baggy pants and slippers. She told Mr Grehan that she knew Mr Kivlehan all her life and he was a regular in the shop. He was “fond of alcohol” and clearly quite drunk that evening.

She agreed that he looked “worse than usual”, he was pale and his beard was longer than it would normally be. He looked as though he wasn’t taking care of himself.

Samantha O’Hanlon was in the same Mace shop later that evening at about 9.20pm.

She told Mr Murray that she saw Mr Kivlehan at the counter trying to buy a naggin of whiskey. She overheard the shopkeeper telling him that he couldn’t buy the bottle with foreign coins.

Ms O’Hanlon spoke to Mr Kivlehan for a few minutes and said that while he was drunk, he was able to hold a conversation.

Shortly after mid-night Danny Hallihan, a friend of the deceased, passed Mr Kivlehan’s home and heard the voices of three to four people inside.

He told Mr Grehan that this would be normal as Mr Kivlehan liked company. Garda Martin Kelly has been detailing the movements of Keith and Janice Brady, as caught on CCTV around Sligo Town, on August 2 and 3, 2015.