Murder accused said he took knife from aunt's partner and gave him 'a few jabs', trial hears

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3 days ago

A murder accused told gardaí that he took a knife from his aunt's enraged partner after a scuffle and gave him "a few jabs with it", telling detectives that he had no intention to kill and was in fear for his life.
"It was either going to be me sitting here today or him sitting here today," the accused told officers.
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Ryan Kearney (39), with an address at Loughnamona Drive, Leixlip, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jeffrey Jackson (50) at The Lamps, School Street, Kilcock, Co Kildare, on February 8th, 2024.
Mr Jackson's partner, Breda Kearney, has given evidence that when she returned home after a brief trip to the shop she was met by her bloodied nephew Ryan Kearney, who told her he had stabbed her partner in the neck and thought he was dead.
Detective Garda John Faherty on Wednesday agreed with Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that the accused's garda interview had become "fairly free flowing" on the evening of February 9th.
The accused told gardaí he had been a chef, to which Det Gda Faherty replied "Geez, a man of many talents. Jaysus". The accused went on to say: "Murder onto the list".
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Mr Kearney said he had previously lived with his aunt Ms Kearney for two-and-a-half years in her two-bed penthouse apartment. He told gardaí he would stay there regularly but didn't live there and would go down "for a couple of days drinking".
Mr Kearney said Mr Jackson had previously "boxed the head off" him and broken his hand. The accused said that when the deceased got "something into his head, he snaps" and "goes into mad rages".
Referring to February 8th, Mr Kearney told gardaí that his aunt and Mr Jackson were drinking a bottle of vodka when he arrived at the apartment. He said Ms Kearney had given him a drink and Mr Jackson had started complaining "that's my drink and why you giving it to him".
"I could tell he had a few drinks on him," he added.
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The accused told officers his aunt said she would go and get "another bottle to keep the peace". He said when his aunt left the apartment, Mr Jackson "started going to me and all": "What are you coming down here and all for? We don't want you down here".
The accused told the detectives he said: "Jeff, will you ever stop".
"I wasn't arguing with him, he was arguing with me".
Mr Kearney continued: "So then he started throwing digs and this started and we got into a scuffle and I thought it was over and done with, and then next of all, he went for the drawer and he got a knife".
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"I think it was a black-handled knife, it wasn't even a big knife, it was only a small knife".
"I seen him coming towards me and I said to myself 'I'm dead'. I said what am I going to do here. Whatever way I caught him with the knife, he had it in his hand, that's how I got cut, that cut on me finger and that cut there".
The accused said he got the knife off Mr Jackson, but the deceased "kept coming towards" him. "He kept lunging at me and lunging at me and lunging at me".
"I didn't know what to do and then in the end, I gave him a few jabs with it and he fell onto the sofa where he was found".
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He added: "I didn't go out with any intention to kill him, to kill anybody or to do that kind of damage to anybody. I swear it was just..I was in fear for me life, honest to God. I thought he was going to kill me... I promise you I thought he was going to kill me.....And he just kept coming at me and coming at me. He was in a fit of rage like. He just snaps".
"To see a man dying...just going like that in front of you, like, it's terrible. He got the knife out of the drawer and he was coming at me with the knife, so it was either going to be me sitting here today or him sitting here today".
Earlier, forensic scientist Ms Sarah Fleming told Edward Doocey BL, prosecuting, that she examined a kitchen knife with a serrated blade and a black plastic handle, which was taken from the draining board in the kitchen of Ms Kearney's apartment.
The witness said the knife's blade was 12cm in length and 1.5cm in width at its widest point. She said there was blood-staining on the handle of the knife, and the DNA profile obtained matched that of Mr Kearney.
Ms Fleming said there was a mixed DNA profile obtained from the serrated edge of the blade. She said either the mixed DNA profile had originated from the accused and Mr Jackson or from two unknown persons unrelated to them. She said it was one thousand million times more likely if the mixed DNA profile came from the accused and Mr Jackson rather than if it came from two unknown persons.
Under cross-examination, Ms Fleming agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that his client's DNA on the knife's handle was consistent with the accused having made contact with it and transferring his blood from an open wound onto the knife itself.
Garda Niall Geoghan told Mr Doocey he had photographed a number of injuries to the accused's body and torso. The witness said there was bruising on the accused's arms and lower back. Other injuries included a small cut to the centre of the head and on the little and index fingers.
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Man (39) told gardaí he stabbed his aunt's partner...
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Under cross-examination, Gda Geoghan agreed with Mr Bowman that the accused had been touched with alcohol addiction since he knew him. The garda agreed that the accused had been charged with public order offences in the past, and when he was "on the drink" he wouldn't always attend court, and bench warrants would be issued.
Gda Geoghan said he had taken responsibility for making sure Mr Kearney showed up to court and told the court the accused had been cooperative in their dealings and never violent.
In his opening speech, Mr Grehan told the jury that evidence of 16 separate knife injuries suffered by Mr Jackson during what the prosecution say was a "ferocious attack" in the apartment did not fit with Mr Kearney's account of having stabbed the deceased in self defence.
The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul Burns and a jury of three men and nine women.