A FRIEND of a young woman on trial for murdering a 66-year-old man has told the Central Criminal Court that the accused had “no motive” and “wouldn’t have done it on purpose”.
Giving evidence via video-link from Australia, Maria Cunningham-Dutton said the accused, Claire Nolan, was “off her head on cocaine” at the time of the incident, in which Michael Duffy died.
The witness said Ms Nolan was “in such a rage” on the night in question because the deceased’s son had tried to break into her new car.
Ms Nolan (23), of Sheephill Green in Blanchardstown, has denied murdering Mr Duffy in the driveway of his son’s home at Well View Grove, Blanchardstown, on January 26th, 2008.
She has admitted to the taxi-driver’s manslaughter, but the prosecution is arguing that Ms Nolan murdered Mr Duffy by driving her car at speed towards him and crushing him to death.
“She didn’t mean to do it, I know she didn’t. Anyone can see there’s no motive for this . . . she wouldn’t have done it on purpose . . . there was just too much drink and drugs,” Ms Cunningham-Dutton told the jury.
“I’m not making any excuses ’cause what happened shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
The 22-year-old witness described how she spent Friday, January 25th, 2008, with Claire Nolan, driving her new Nissan Micra car and taking cocaine and sleeping tablets.
They then went back to her mother’s house in Blanchardstown and spent the evening drinking wine and eating pizza.
Ms Cunningham-Dutton said the whole incident was “like a blur” to her because of the wine and cocaine she’d taken.
Breaking down, she told the court how she remembered standing in a neighbour’s garden and seeing the accused’s car driving at speed into Francis Duffy’s driveway.
The trial continues.