A man whose body was found in a suitcase dumped in a Dublin canal was murdered in a contract "beating" which went too far, a murder trial jury at the Central Criminal Court has been told.
Ukrainian Mr Igore Derjhack (30), Mountjoy Square, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Romanian national Adrian Bestea (21) in July 2001.
Mr Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Bestea's girlfriend had arranged for three men, one of whom was Mr Derjhack, to "rough him up" because he was beating her and she wanted him to leave her flat in Sandymount.
Marina Tsouretseva met the men on July 8th after she left the flat following an argument in which Mr Bestea had beaten her again. Later that day at the flat, Mr Derjhack and another man, Oleg, who was armed with a wheel-brace, punched Mr Bestea then put him in a chair and tied him up, Mr Gageby said. A third man was sent out to buy drinks.
The pair were "inclined to offer at that stage to kill Mr Bestea and possibly a figure of $2,000 was offered". Tsouretseva declined and left the flat to buy some cigarettes.
"When she came back, she will say, Mr Bestea was wrapped in bloody sheets and for practical purposes there was no life in him." Mr Gageby said she then heard Mr Derjhack say: "We finished him."
He said they put Mr Bestea's body in a suitcase and took it on a bus to Drumcondra where it was thrown into the Royal Canal.
"Later that day Marina met Igore and Oleg in a pub in town, Sinnott's, and Igore was looking for money for what he had done," he said.
The court heard Mr Bestea was an illegal immigrant who had entered Ireland "via the back door". He had failed to hold down several jobs because he often did not turn up to work and was a "violent man, inclined to hit his girlfriend".
Youths found a suitcase in the canal containing his bruised and bloodied body on July 20th. A post-mortem found he had been killed by up to 10 blows to the back and side of the head.
Mr Derjhack has also pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment and assault causing harm.
Tsouretseva, who the court heard has pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment and assault causing harm to her boyfriend, is expected to give evidence today. The court heard she too was an illegal immigrant who had established several identities to claim welfare and avoid deportation.
The trial before Mr Justice O'Neill and the jury continues today.