The fate of a man charged with fatally striking a Dublin carpenter on St Patrick’s Day, 2023 rests in the hands of a Boston jury.
Lawyers delivered closing arguments in Suffolk Superior Courthouse on Thursday. The cases hinges on whether a racial epithet was used and if the force of the blow or the victim’s intoxication led to the fatality.
Barry Whelan (46) was found laying on his back in downtown Boston on March 17th, 2023. He was transported to hospital and succumbed to his injuries three days later on March 20th. Sanusi Sadiq (30) of Quincy is facing manslaughter charges for his death.
The two men were strangers who interacted on the street shortly before 9pm and had a seven-minute exchange before Mr Sadiq struck Mr Whelan, who fell and hit his head.
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Mr Sadiq’s attorney Michael Chinman argued that in the moments before the assault Mr Whelan was harassing Mr Sadiq, calling him a “f***ing” n-word and that Mr Whelan fell because he was drunk. There is video of the exchange but no audio recording.
Assistant district attorney Jillian Bannister said the allegation of racism is “a convenient interpretation.” The jury cannot know what transpired from Mr Whelan’s perspective, other than he was a carpenter from Ireland, celebrating the holiday, she said.
“Having some drinks on St Patrick’s Day did not cause Barry Whelan’s death,” said Ms Bannister.
Mr Whelan was originally from Dublin and emigrated to the US in 2002. He had been living in Woburn, north of Boston.
The defence asked the jury to review the testimony of medical experts and of Mr Sadiq, who spoke to police and took the stand in his defence, insisting that he wasn’t trying to hurt Mr Whelan – he was just trying to get to work.
Mr Sadiq was on his way to his job as a bouncer at nearby bar Yvonne’s when Mr Whelan approached, said the defence. Mr Whelan called him “lazy” looked angry, used a hand gesture and told Mr Sadiq to move out of the way. Mr Whelan then returned and approached Mr Sadiq near an ATM machine, calling called Mr Sadiq a racial epithet.
Mr Sadiq worked steps away from where the altercation took place, checking IDs outside.
When his client struck Mr Whelan, he wasn’t trying to cause injury, said Mr Chinman.
Mr Sadiq did not know how drunk Mr Whelan was, and could not have known Mr Whelan would fall “like a tree going tinder” when he struck.
“The defence is asking you to disbelieve what you can see with your very eyes,” said Ms Bannister.
She replayed a video in which the two men are standing close together near the corner of Winter Street and Winter Place. A woman walks by and Mr Sadiq appears to look both ways “making sure the coast is clear” before he strikes, Mr Whelan crumples to the ground and Mr Sadiq absconds.
“Watch this video as many times as you like,” she told the jury. Is it a “consistent course of action” for someone in fear to walk closer to the person they see as a threat, asked Ms Bannister.
“This wasn’t a hasty reaction, and no one here said Mr Sadiq had any intention of killing Mr Whelan,” she said.
Three alternates were removed from the original jury pool, the case is being deliberated on by 12 jurors, seven women and five men. The state is asking them a unanimous verdict of involuntary manslaughter by wanton or reckless conduct or by battery.
Judge Mary Ames advised the jury that the “presumption of innocence stays with the defendant”. She also stated that jurors “should consider if a witness has a motive in testifying in a certain way”.
Mr Whelan’s brother, Darren Whelan, flew in from Dublin for the hearing. He watched from the galley with two family friends.
