A witness in a Co Kerry murder trial said that he lied in statements to gardai because he knew the "reputation" of the accused man and did not want to get involved, a jury at the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday.
Cross-examined by defence counsel Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, Mr James O'Dowd said: "I know the reputation of Mr O'Brien. I've seen the damage he's done to other people and I didn't want to be involved."
Mr Michael "John the Bobs" O'Brien (27), single and unemployed, of Gallowsfield, Tralee, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of James Healy (16), of Shanakill, Tralee, at Monavalley Industrial Estate, Tralee, on or about February 22nd, 1997.
Mr O'Dowd made several statements to gardai, of which he said only the final one was accurate.
In earlier statements Mr O'Dowd said he had seen the deceased on the night he was last known to be alive, but that he had been with a person other than the accused man. He later told gardai that he had seen Mr Healy, but not over the few days before his body was found.
In his final statement Mr O'Dowd told gardai that he had seen the deceased with the accused man in the vicinity of where Mr Healy's body was found a few days later.
Suggesting that Mr O'Dowd had "lied through his teeth" to gardai, obstructed the administration of justice and concealed evidence, defence counsel told him that he was an "untrustworthy witness".
The father of the accused man, Mr John O'Brien, from Gallows field, Tralee, told the court that the day before Mr Healy's body was found on waste ground his son had said "maybe" Mr Healy had fallen off a roof and was lying in a field with head injuries.
Mr John O'Brien said that his son would often make comments which were unreliable. "He was always speculating in the things he said. He imagines a lot of things and you wouldn't believe them. If there was a crime in the town, he'd pick out the guys who did it. You don't take much notice."
The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, told the court that 13 of Mr Healy's teeth were knocked out and pieces of his jaw were dislodged. He had sustained 20 injuries to his head.
The trial, before Mr Justice Kinlen and a jury of eight women and four men, continues today.