A 21-year-old Co Tipperary man charged with the murder of one of his friends in Waterford city last year allegedly stabbed him in a row over a battered sausage.
At the Central Criminal Court today, a witness to the incident told a murder trial jury that "all war broke loose over a sausage" prior to the killing of John Paul Ryan (20), a native of Fethard, Co Tipperary who was living in Waterford city at the time.
Mr Kenneth Wall was giving evidence on the first day of the trial of Mr Charlie Maher, originally from Clonmel, Co Tipperary and with an address at Grange Cohen, St Johns Park, Waterford. Mr Maher has pleaded not guilty to the murder of John Paul Ryan (20) at Grange Cohen Park, Waterford on March 11th, 2002.
Mr Wall told Mr Paddy McCarthy SC for the prosecution that on the night of March 11th, a group of friends including both the deceased and the accused were drinking together from early evening onwards on the grounds of a football pitch on the outskirts of the city. Later in the night they went to a friends house in the city, where they continued to drink cans of cider.
"We decided to go down to a takeaway in The Glen to get something to eat," Mr Wall said. "We walked down having a laugh, I don't think John Paul had any money at the time," he said. He told counsel that he wasn't sure "who ordered what" or who paid for the food, but said that as soon as they went outside the chipper to eat the food "all war broke loose".
"John Paul took a sausage out of Charlie's bag," he said. "Charlie took it the wrong way." He said that both men struck a number of blows and the other lads in the group tried to break it up. "I seen a lot of digs thrown by both people, they were fighting three or four times...we separated them and Charlie went to walk off," he said. As the accused walked away he "gave a dig" to the window of a nearby off-licence window.
Following this Mr Wall said the accused walked home to Grange Cohen Park on his own, and the others, including John Paul Ryan continued behind him. "John Paul walked off in front of us to Charlie Maher - he said he wanted to go up and sort it out, because it was only over a sausage," he said. "He wanted to call it quits," he added.
When they reached the home of the accused, Mr Ryan met Charlie Maher on the roadway in front of his house. "I saw the two of them coming together, I thought they were going to make up but then all hell broke loose," Mr Wall said.
"I saw Charlie Maher hit John Paul first, the two of them started fighting and fell on to the ground," he said. He heard the girlfriend of the accused who was in his house screaming "drop the knife". "There was hands everywhere...Charlie was on top of John Paul," he added.
"I ran over and stood on his wrist and took the knife out of his hand," he said. He said he dragged Mr Maher off the deceased and "threw him into his house". As the gardai arrived on the scene Mr Ryan lay on the ground in a pool of blood "gasping for air".
Efforts to revive the young man failed as he had sustained two stab wounds, one to the heart and a second in the thigh. "Charlie locked himself in the house, but came out when the guards arrived and went straight to them," the witness said.
The trial continues tomorrow before a jury of nine women and three men and Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns.