A CO KILDARE bachelor died after he sustained 11 stab wounds in an assault, the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.
The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, said the wound which caused council worker Mr Michael Doogue's death was inflicted in his left shoulder, passed through the large vein draining his left arm and then went into the left side of his chest.
The cause of Mr Doogue's death was haemorrhage or bleeding due to a stab wound in the left subclavial vein.
Having carried out a post mortem examination on the body of Mr Doogue on May 24th, 1995, he found Mr Doogue received nine stab wounds to the face and body, including one wound which penetrated his lower lip and entered his mouth.
Dr Harbison agreed most of the wounds were superficial and said he could not recall another case in his career where a person had died as a result of a wound inflicted in the shoulder.
Dr Harbison said he was shown a boning knife with its tip broken off. He said the blade was a substantial steel one and it would require force of some sort to break off the tip.
The State Pathologist was giving evidence on the third day of the trial of Mr John Lammon (58), of Dooley's Terrace, At by, Co Kildare, who has denied the murder of Mr Doogue (57), a single man, from Kilcrow, Athy, in the town on May 24th, 1995.
The defendant has also denied unlawfully wounding Mrs Angela Kelly (52), a separated mother of five, from Greenhills, Athy, on the same date, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to her.
The State has contended Mr Lammon set out in "a planned way" and stabbed Mr Doogue and Ms Kelly.
Mr Gregory Murphy SC, prosecuting, said it was the State's case that Mr Lammon believed Mr Doogue and Mrs Kelly were having an affair, although this was denied by Mrs Kelly.
The State case concluded yesterday and the defence case opens this morning. The trial, which is before Mrs Justice McGuinness and a jury, is expected to conclude on Monday.
In court yesterday, Mrs Helena Scappatticci, a cousin of Mrs Kelly, said she and Mrs Kelly and another woman went out together for a late drink to a pub in Athy on May 24th, 1995.
She said Mr Doogue was in the pub and gave all three a lift back to the Greenhills estate. She got out of the car to go home and the other woman got out to go to the lavatory in Mrs Kelly's house.
Mrs Scappatticci said she went into her own home and shortly afterwards was opening the door to see the babysitter out when she saw Mrs Kelly about two or three feet away from her front door.
Mrs Kelly said certain things, the witness said. She was injured and then collapsed.
As Mrs Kelly came in, Mr Lammon was over at another house walking away "quite calm, quite normal", she said. The witness said Mrs Kelly and her two youngest children were "always running", "always afraid" of Mr Lammon, especially when he would come up to the house after drinking.
She said Mr Lammon would break windows and would call Mrs Kelly names.
Dr Louise McKenna of the Forensic Science Laboratory in Dublin said she had examined a boning knife and blood samples and clothing taken from Mr Doogue, the defendant and Mrs Kelly.
She had grouped blood from the boning knife and found the combination of blood groups present matched groups in the blood of Mr Doogue and of groups present in 14 per cent of the population.
Garda Peter McConnon said he found a knife with its tip broken off during a search of grass at Greenhills, Athy, on May 24th, 1995. He had shown the knife to Mr Lammon later that day and the defendant had identified it as his.
Dr Shabheer Muhammed said he had carried out surgery on Mrs Kelly on May 24th, 1995. She had a wound in her back consistent with a stab wound and it had penetrated her kidney. The damaged kidney had to be removed. She had recovered well.