Murder accused told gardaí he saw Daniel McAnaspie get punched

A murder accused told gardaí he saw the deceased getting punched in the face hours before the teenager is alleged to have been stabbed to death.

Richard Dekker (30) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 17-year-old Daniel McAnaspie at Tolka Valley Park, Blanchardstown on February 26th, 2010.

The youth’s body was not found for almost three months but gardaí began an investigation into his disappearance when he failed to return home on February 25th.

Detective Sergeant Daniel Callaghan told prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan SC gardaí spoke to Richard Dekker as he was known to have been among the last people to have seen Daniel.

On March 7th, nine days after the last confirmed sighting of Daniel, Mr Dekker made a statement under caution at his home.

He told gardaí he was hanging out near his home that Thursday evening with his friend Trevor Noone.

They met Daniel and a friend of Daniel’s and two girls who lived on the street. They spent a few hours drinking outdoors with them.

He said he didn't really know Daniel, whom he called "Dano", but he had seen him before. After they had been drinking for a while, he said Daniel "was mouthing out of him about people he was fighting in Finglas. "

He said it was just a “young lad being a hard man” but then one of the people he said he had fought turned out to be a friend or relative of Trevor Noone.

Mr Dekker said: “Trevor just turned around and hit him a box.” Daniel fell down but he didn’t hit back. “He didn’t do anything,” Mr Dekker said.

The accused man said he then went to his own house and told his mother Trevor had punched Daniel. A little while later he looked over the wall of his garden and when he saw that they were not fighting he went back outside.

At this point the two girls and the other teenager were leaving but Daniel wanted to stay with Mr Dekker and Trevor Noone.

They stayed on the road “for a few minutes” Mr Dekker told the gardaí, but then Mr Dekker decided to go home.

He said Daniel walked off but he couldn’t remember what direction he went and that was the last time he saw him. He was told the next day that Daniel was missing.

Gardaí asked him if he had told them everything he knew about Daniel’s movements that night and he replied: “yes”.

It is the prosecution’s case that Mr Dekker and Mr Noone lured Daniel to a secluded area by the Tolka River where they stabbed him to death with one half of a garden shears.

Mr Dekker’s barrister Sean Gillane SC told the court his client wanted to make some admissions that would allow the trial to move along more swiftly.

He said he accepts his arrest, detention and charge were all lawful and that the preservation of the crime scene and exhibits in the case were done according to the law.

Justice Patrick McCarthy told the jury there was a legal issue to be discussed in their absence and asked the seven women and five men to return next Tuesday.