Robert O'Connor

Prisoner accused of killing fellow inmate Robert O'Connor claimed dead man was his friend, court told

26 Nov 2024, 05:00 by Fiona Magennis · Irish Mirror

A prisoner accused of murdering a fellow inmate told gardaí that he had thrown a punch after the deceased had come at him, that he did not want to kill and that the incident would "haunt" him for the rest of his life, a court has heard.

In garda interviews the defendant also said the deceased man, Robert O’Connor, had been a good friend adding: “I grew up with him all my life in the prison system.”

David Dunne (40), with a last address in Summerhill, Dublin 1, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Robert O’Connor on July 29, 2022 at Mountjoy Prison, North Circular Road, Dublin 7.

The jury also heard on Monday that when the statement of a prison officer, who said he had seen David Dunne “stamping” on Mr O’Connor’s head was put to the accused, he replied: “That’s a lie”.

Memorandums of interviews Mr Dunne gave to gardaí following his arrest on November 16, 2022 were read to the jury today by prosecuting counsel David Staunton BL.

In his first garda interview, the accused read from a prepared statement in which he said: “I’m sorry for his family, I really am. I think about it every day and night since this happened. It’s killing me inside because he was a good friend of all who knew him. I’m really sorry Robbie yeah to you and your family,” he said.

Mr Dunne said the deceased “got on the defensive” after he asked him about what had happened two days earlier.

The jury has heard Mr Dunne had previously been assaulted in his cell by a number of prisoners on July 27.

The accused said he hit “a dig” at Mr O’Connor after he “came at me”. He said the deceased man “didn’t knock out straight away” and was “still alert”.

“It wasn’t a heavy punch. One punch; bang,” Mr Dunne told gardaí.

He said “the lads” came into his cell but “from what I know it was too late”.

He said the deceased man had been “like the elephant man” with bruising to his eyeball when he had seen him beside the cell before the incident.

When questioned by gardaí, Mr Dunne said he was, “only defending, I didn’t want to kill him like”.

He went on: “I was trying to restrain him, he was lashing out. He lashed out again, there was no malice.”

“I didn’t hit him like I wanted to kill him. It was only a rabbit punch,” the accused told officers. “Its’ so messed up. This will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

In his second interview, the accused told gardaí that Mr O’Connor may have thought he [Mr Dunne] might be “backing up” the people who had beaten the deceased up two days earlier.

"I had him at the door he must have heard things and thought, ‘oh bollocks’. He threw a dig, I threw a dig and he hit the wall.”

He added: “It went a bit pear shaped because he was full of tablets.

“It was just a spur of the moment thing throwing a dig at me…I gave him a dig but I wasn’t expecting that to happen…I think there was something wrong with him already because he didn’t look well the day I seen him, his face was pure white.”

Clinical Neuropathologist Dr Francesca Brett told prosecuting counsel Michael Delaney SC she examined the deceased man’s brain two days after his death.

Dr Brett said Mr O’Connor’s cerebellum was detached and his brain was very swollen.

Giving evidence remotely from California, the doctor said she carried out a microscopic examination which revealed evidence of hypoxic brain damage.

She said there was also evidence of brain stem haemorrhage and of axonal injury.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring and a jury.

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