A man charged with murder at a halting site in Tallaght, Co Dublin, two years ago told gardai he was in a rage when he shot his victim, the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.
The State Pathologist told the court the victim died when two bullets ricocheted around his body, passing through his heart, lungs, liver and abdominal cavity.
Mr Andy Wall (22), of St Patrick's, Fortunestown Lane, Tallaght, has admitted the manslaughter but denies the murder of Mr John McCarthy (35) at a halting site in Fortunestown Lane, off Brookfield Road, early on July 15th, 1996.
He has also pleaded guilty to having a .22 sawn-off rifle and ammunition without lawful purpose at the time of the incident. He denies having the rifle and ammunition with intent to endanger life on the same date.
The court heard Mr Wall was arrested and charged on July 20th, 1996, with the murder of Mr McCarthy after he made a full statement about the killing.
Det Sgt John Melody of the Criminal Detective Unit, Harcourt Square, told the jury that at 11:15 a.m. that day Mr Wall admitted shooting Mr McCarthy and agreed to make a statement. Later that afternoon the statement was read over to him in the presence of his mother. Both the defendant and his mother signed it.
In his statement Mr Wall said he had gone to the scene of an accident outside Jobstown Community Centre just before midnight on July 14th, 1996. His brother, Martin, was lying on the ground and those near him were saying he was dead.
"Everyone was saying the McCarthys did it," Mr Wall told gardai. He said he got back into his car with others he did not wish to name and went back to his caravan and got a rifle. They drove to the unofficial halting site at Fortunestown Lane and there John McCarthy was pointed out to him as one of the McCarthys.
He said Mr McCarthy had run away when he started to question him.
"I was in a rage with John McCarthy that he wouldn't stop and talk to me," he said. He ran after Mr McCarthy and "fired a shot after him to warn him". He followed him into a caravan and shot him twice.
He now knew the dead man had nothing to do with the hit-and-run on his brother, he said, but added: "I thought Martin was dead. I love Martin and I was enraged when I saw him lying there."
Garda witnesses told the court Mr Wall had pointed out an area where the rifle used in the killing had been hidden. In a field behind where Mr Wall's caravan was situated they found two green plastic bags.
A sawn-off shotgun loaded with two cartridges was found in one bag. The other contained a shotgun and a sawn-off rifle with a magazine. A Garda ballistics witness matched the rifle, an Anchutz, and its cartridges with the rifle and ammunition used in the shooting of Mr McCarthy. Mr Wall identified the rifle but told gardai he had never seen the shotgun found in the same bag before.
The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, said one of the bullets that hit Mr McCarthy entered his left chest cavity, passed through his rib, down through the apex of his lung and heart, and then back into his lung, before finally lodging in his left shoulder. The other bullet also passed through the dead man's lung and heart before lodging in his liver.
One of the bullets came from above and the other from the deceased man's right side, Dr Harbison said. Questioned by Mr Michael McDowell SC, for the defence, Dr Harbison said he would not exclude the possibility that Mr McCarthy was "ducking down to avoid a shot" when one of the bullets hit him.
Two witnesses gave evidence of the hit-and-run accident which injured Mr Wall's brother, Martin, earlier on the night of the shooting.
Mr Keith Mooney (18), who is in custody at present, gave evidence that on the night of July 14th he had been standing with Mr Martin Wall and another person outside the Community Centre when a cream Hiace van with "three fellows" inside swung on to the pavement, hitting him on the hand and knocking Mr Wall down, dragging him for a time along the grass.
Mr Mooney said the van stopped when it ran into a lamppost. He ran up to the driver and told him he had just killed Mr Wall. Mr Mooney agreed with Mr Michael McDowell that the driver had told him to "fuck off" before driving off. He said he did not know the driver, he said.
Ms Betty McKenna, of Brookfield Close, said she thought Mr Wall was dead when she saw him lying on the ground. She said Mr Andy Wall "looked like he was in shock from the moment he arrived" at the scene.
The case continues today.