A woman laughed when a man accused of murder told her that he had assaulted someone and thrown him down a drain pipe because she thought that it was impossible, a court has heard.
Witness Mary Kate Fitzgerald said that she was good friends with David O’Loughlin (28) when he allegedly told her that he had assaulted someone and thrown them down a drain pipe.
Mr O’Loughlin denies the murder of homeless man and Simon resident Liam Manley (59) at his flat at Garden City Apartments, North Main Street in Cork on May 12th, 2013.
Mr Manley’s remains were found in a refuse chute at the apartment complex on May 13th, 2013, the trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork has previously heard.
On Wednesday, Ms Fitzgerald told the jury of five men and seven women how she received a phone call from Mr O’Loughlin on the morning of May 12th, 2013. “At around 6.30 in the morning, David O’Loughlin rang me on my mobile. The conversation basically was that he asked me where I was,” said Ms Fitzgerald.
“He told me he was after assaulting someone and throwing them down a rubbish chute. I was good friends with him. He told me he was after assaulting someone.
“First, he said he threw someone down a drain pipe and I laughed. I laughed because I thought it was impossible Then he said it was a rubbish chute.
“He sounded pretty normal. I was drunk. He did not sound at all panicky,” she said, adding that she and her friend Jessica Lowther later went to Mr O’Loughlin’s apartment.
Mr O Loughlin had phoned her about 11 times and, when they got to his apartment at Garden City Apartments, they met Mr O’Loughlin and another man, David O’Mahony
Ms Fitzgerald said that they asked the two men what had had happened and Mr O’Loughlin told her another man had come up and stated he was a paedophile.
“David O’Loughlin said that he hit him a couple of times and threw him down a rubbish chute. “They [David O’Loughlin and David O’Mahony] were both laughing and joking. They were not behaving like something like this happened. I thought he was maybe showing off,” said Ms Fitzgerald, adding she saw what looked like blood on the skirting board.
At one point she went to the washing machine and when she opened it, she found a blood-stained item – either a towel or a bed sheet – in the machine, she said.
She said “what the f*ck” but Mr O’Loughlin did not respond, adding that she was drinking and had taken MDMA and speed in the apartment
She said there were conflicting stories going on about how the unnamed man was allegedly assaulted. “I switched off, I did not listen to it anymore. The story kept changing.”
Ms Fitzgerald said Mr O’Loughlin left the apartment at one stage for about five minutes and when he came back he said “That is dealt with now”, and washed his hands.
“I kind of smelled blood. I got really nervous and I wanted to leave. I made excuses to leave. I phoned my fiancé. I flagged a cab and went home,” she said. The case continues.
