A farmer and small-time firearms dealer took a shotgun and fired it at his stepson when the stepson tried to confront him about pushing his mother down a stairs, a murder trial jury heard yesterday.
The jury heard that the shot pellets went through the stepson's arm and into his chest, fatally wounding him.
In the Central Criminal Court, Mr Patrick (Pat) Murray (43), has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his partner's son, Ian O'Connor, otherwise known as Ian Dixon (21), at his home in Moyrath, Kildalkey, Co Meath, on December 6th, 1999.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Mr Michael Counihan SC said the accused man lived with his partner Maura and their two children at Mr Murray's farmhouse in Moyrath. Ian O'Connor, or Ian Dixon as he was locally known, was one of two children of Maura's by a previous marriage, and he also lived in the house. Up to the time of the shooting, Ian Dixon and Mr Murray got on "reasonably well".
In a statement to garda∅, Mr Pat Murray said he was terrified of what Ian was going to do to him when he was told Mr Murray had pushed his mother downstairs. He armed himself in the bedroom and was "effectively expecting Ian to come in," counsel said.
He said that Mr Murray took a shotgun from the wardrobe in his bedroom and loaded two live cartridges. He told garda∅ his stepson burst into the room and he fired a shot at him, intending to stop him, or "to wing him".
Counsel said Ian Dixon was in "something of a fury" when he rushed up the stairs to confront the accused man. The single gunshot hit his upper arm, but the pellets from it went through the arm and entered the chest, causing fatal injury to the chest cavity and the heart.
The jury was told that when Ian Dixon was taken by ambulance to hospital, a local garda and two of Mr Murray's friends checked the house and found two upstairs bedrooms locked.
After knocking on the first, the door was opened by Mr Murray's 12-year-old son. After a few minutes, the accused man came out of the second bedroom.