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Teen accused of murdering Urantsetseg Tserendorj lashed out in ‘callous, unprovoked, vicious act’, court hears

‘If it was his intention to cause harm, why didn’t he move in again,’ the defence counsel asked the jury

Urantsetseg Tserendorj (48) was making her way home from work when she was attacked.

Ryan Dunne
Mon Nov 7 2022 - 19:23

A teenage boy repeatedly lashed out at Mongolian woman Urantsetseg Tserendorj with a knife in a “callous, unprovoked and vicious act of thuggery” that was intended to cause an injury, a barrister for the State has told a murder trial jury at the Central Criminal Court. However, counsel for the now 16-year-old boy charged with murder told the jurors that the case involved an intoxicated youth “pushing and shoving and flailing” with the victim rather than intending to cause her serious harm.

During the closing statements on Monday in the trial of the teenager, who cannot be named as he is a minor, Mr Michael O’Higgins SC said there was no evidence that the accused decided to kill Ms Tserendorj because of frustration visited upon him when he did not get any money.

“His intention was to carry out an act of stealing and, if necessary, to use violence or the threat of violence,” said Mr O’Higgins.

Mr O’Higgins made his remarks in response to the closing statement of counsel for the prosecution, Seán Guerin SC. Mr Guerin said the focus of the case was solely on the accused’s intention. He said that intention does not have to be premeditated.

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“It can be formed in an instant and dissipate in an instant. Even a person who is profoundly regretful may still have had the necessary intention at the time,” said Mr Guerin.

“If the intent to cause serious injury exists and death results, a verdict of guilty to murder is deserved.”

Mr Guerin said that the CCTV footage of the attack showed not one but two blows being struck against Ms Tserendorj that were capable of causing the wound that killed her.

“There appeared to have been two quite deliberate blows with the knife,” he said. “You see on the footage what is done; you see her try to parry one of the blows, and you see what the accused does twice.”

He said that the accused cycled toward Ms Tserendorj, he got off his bike, approached her in an aggressive manner, and then reached to get the knife out.

“He didn’t have the knife out when he approached her. He may have taken it out not to rob her but at his annoyance when she didn’t have money,” said Mr Guerin.

“The use of the knife was only incidentally related to the robbery. There was no attempt to rifle through her bag. He asked for money, she said she didn’t have any, and, whether in anger or frustration, he lashed out repeatedly. This may be a callous, unprovoked, and vicious act of thuggery that was intended to cause an injury,” said Mr Guerin.

The prosecution said that the accused intended the natural and probable consequences of his actions, and that was to cause serious harm.

“To go for the neck with a knife is to go for the most vulnerable area,” he said.

Mr Guerin said that after stabbing Ms Tserendorj, the accused then attempted to steal another woman’s phone, Ms Tayo Odelade.

“When he failed to get the phone and she abused him and was able to stand up for herself, he showed her the knife and said, ‘That could have been a lot worse for you’. It shows that, within a very short time, he understood exactly what it was to wield a knife,” said Mr Guerin.

“He weighed up the risks to himself and his reaction was measured and self-conscious, and having been offended, he showed a desire to respond in a way that showed he could do her harm if he wanted to.”

Mr Guerin said that Ms Tserendorj never presented any threat to the accused. She was trying to defend herself and the accused twice swung a very sharp knife at her neck. Mr Guerin said that the accused may have been intoxicated at the time, but intoxicated intent is still an intent in law.

“He may well have been intoxicated, and he may well have been looking for money, but the way he approached her, he knew exactly what he was doing,” he said.

Mr Guerin said the best evidence was the video footage.

“It’s perfectly clear that what happened was he took the knife from his jacket and, knowing how dangerous it was, he deliberately swung it at her neck,” said Mr Guerin.

In the defence’s closing statement, Mr O’Higgins asked the jury to consider whether this was a case where someone with malice was trying to stick a knife into someone’s neck or was it a chaotic event with pushing and shoving and flailing, and the knife accidentally went into the victim’s neck.

“If it was his intention to cause harm, why didn’t he move in again? Why, when it appeared she wasn’t injured, did he cycle off? How is that consistent with the intention to cause serious injury?” asked Mr O’Higgins.

Mr O’Higgins said the accused was unaware he had inflicted an injury on Ms Tserendorj.

“Why is he unaware he had inflicted a serious injury? Why is he surprised? Why is he so contrite? He was unaware because he was using the knife to intimidate,” said defence.

Mr O’Higgins said that when the accused later tried to rob Ms Odelade, she gave as good as she got and insulted him.

“Would that not be the perfect storm for a young person carrying a knife to go up to someone weaker than them? Are these not the buttons that would have pressed the anger button? Would that not be the circumstance in which the element of self-restraint would be gone?” asked Mr O’Higgins.

He said no one could conclude that there was any precision targeting with the knife.

Mr O’Higgins had the CCTV footage played again for the jury, reminding them that some of the footage was of low quality. He said the prosecution had presented the case in the “comic strip form” of a young person coming along with a knife and “going for the jugular”.

“Far from going for the jugular, it’s much more consistent with pushing and shoving and flailing,” he said.

He concluded by saying: “There is a doubt in this case that there was an intention to cause a serious injury.”

Ms Tserendorj was stabbed in the neck on a walkway between George’s Dock and Custom House Quay in the IFSC, Dublin on January 20th, 2021. The accused has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Tserendorj but guilty to her manslaughter on January 29th, 2021.

He has also pleaded guilty to producing a knife and to attempting to rob Ms Tserendorj on January 20th, 2021.

The trial will conclude on Tuesday with Mr Justice Tony Hunt’s directions to the jury of six men and six women.

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