Man died after being thrown down rubbish chute, Cork trial told

A man who had fallen on hard times died from mechanical asphyxia after being thrown down a rubbish chute in an apartment complex in Cork city, a prosecutor has told the opening of a murder trial.

Patrick McGrath SC said the jury would hear that Liam Manley (59), a native of Gurranebraher in Cork, got caught in the chute at the City Garden Apartments on North Main Street on May 12th, 2013.

David O'Loughlin (32), with an address at the City Garden Apartments, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork to a charge of murdering Mr Manley.

Mr McGrath told the jury of five men and seven women that Mr Manley was not known to the accused when they met in the early hours of May 12th, 2013 in Cork city centre.

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“The deceased was a man who had worked a fair bit in his life but he had fallen on hard times. He developed a drink problem. At the time of his death he was effectively an alcoholic,” said Mr McGrath.

He added that Mr Manley used to help out at Cork Simon but ultimately came to depend on the charity.

Drinking heavily

Mr McGrath said the jury would hear evidence that Mr Manley returned to Mr O’Loughlin’s apartment after they met at about 4am. They had been drinking heavily beforehand and were joined at around 6am by an acquaintance of Mr O’Loughlin’s, David O’Mahony, who had also been drinking.

Outlining the case, Mr McGrath told the jury members they would hear that “verbal abuse began being directed at the deceased by the accused and this quickly developed into physical assault” with the accused punching Mr Manley in the face.

He said they would hear that Mr O’Mahony asked Mr O’Loughlin to stop but he was told to shut up and sit down. The dispute ended with Mr Manley being dragged out of the apartment by Mr O’Loughlin before Mr O’Mahony heard a steel door closing outside the apartment.

The State would allege that this noise was the door to a rubbish chute leading to a rubbish bin in the basement and it would be the State’s case that Mr O’Loughlin threw Mr Manley, who was 5ft 4in tall and of slight build, down the rubbish chute.

‘Drain’

He said Mr O'Mahony would tell the court that Mr O'Loughlin told him that "the man was down the drain" and the pathologist's evidence would show that Mr Manely suffered a gruesome death from mechanical asphyxia after becoming wedged in the chute.

He said a maintenance worker at the apartment complex, Michael Forde was alerted to a blockage in the chute, and he got some rods to try and clear it.

“Mr Forde noticed a copious amount of red liquid which he thought at first was some kind of sauce emerging from the rubbish. It dawned on him relatively quickly it was blood,” said Mr McGrath.

He said the prosecution would produce scientific evidence and CCTV evidence as well as evidence from the various witnesses which he believed would satisfy the jury beyond reasonable doubt that Mr O'Loughlin murdered Mr Manley. The case continues before Ms Justice Tara Burns on Wednesday.