A teenager who saw a man lured to his death by a murder accused was one of the first to find his body several hours later at Blackrock Castle in Cork, a jury heard at the Central Criminal court today.
Testifying by video-link to the court, 16-year-old Richard Murphy said he last saw the deceased, Mr Derek O'Connell, alive in a park area known locally as 'the backs' in Mahon, Cork city around 4 p.m. on Sunday 15th September 2002.
He said a gang of "seven or eight" of his friends were gathered when Mr O' Connell, known as 'Doc' came up to them: "He came down to the gang. He was talking about his phone or something, only to Martin".
When asked by Mr Patrick J. McCarthy SC prosecuting what one of the accused, Mr Martin O'Leary, said to 'Doc', Mr Murphy replied: "He said 'I know somebody that has your phone'. He said 'come on with me and we'll go down and get it'".
"They walked off down the other entrance to the alley" Mr Murphy said and confirmed that Mr O'Leary, known as 'Mollie', had "picked up a hurley".
The witness also said that Mr O'Leary's co-accused, Mr Philip Dorney passed "a knife" to him before he walked off with the deceased.
Mr Murphy was giving evidence on the second day of the murder trial of Mr Martin O'Leary (27) of Nutley Road, Mahon, Cork and Mr Philip Dorney (25) of Nutley Avenue, Mahon, Cork. They have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Derek O'Connell (27) at Blackrock Castle on 15 September 2002.
The accused also deny intimidating seven potential witnesses at Nutley Avenue on 15 September 2002.
Mr Murphy said he met the two accused later the same day at a friend's house and both appeared "normal". He said 'Mollie' came into a bedroom at Mr Richard French's house and began talking to 'Dorney'. Mr Murphy then drew both his fingers across his cheek from his lips to his ears to describe the movement 'Mollie' made with his hands: "He did that while he was talking".
He said he couldn't hear what Mr O'Leary was saying however.
At around "six or seven" that evening, Mr Murphy and four friends went down to Blackrock Castle where they found Mr O'Connell's body: "I was walking around the wall up into the slip, we seen it and we ran back out".
Under cross-examination by Mr O'Leary's defence counsel, Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, the teenager accepted his nickname was 'Blackie'. He denied he owed the deceased money for drugs. He said 'Doc' was in a drunken condition when he last saw him but "was able to walk". Mr Murphy also denied that 'Doc' was accusing Mr Richard French of stealing his mobile phone.
He told Mr O'Carroll that when he saw the body at Blackrock Castle he and a friend "told the girls that the body was in there" before running off. When asked by Mr O'Carroll why they left the scene and didn't stay to talk to Gardai Mr Murphy replied: "'cos we didn't want anything to do with it. We
didn't want to get dragged into it".
Earlier Garda Mark O'Mahoney told the court he arrived at the scene of the crime, met some teenagers and then found the body lying in a secluded woody area just outside the Castle walls: "He was lying on his left side facing us. His head would have been near the wall on the left hand side near the
trees. There was blood on the head yes" he said.
"The body was lying on a pair of red-handled pliers" Gda O'Mahoney added.
The trial continues tomorrow.