A man stabbed his flatmate in the neck with a fork and a screwdriver puncturing his tongue, a murder trial jury heard yesterday.
The Central Criminal Court was told that the accused man, Mr Martin Merrigan (34) was having a homosexual relationship with Mr Mark Egan (42) at their flat in Rathfarnham, Dublin.
Both men were alcoholics and had been drinking heavily on the day and evening of the killing. The court heard that the accused became enraged when the deceased kept "going on about Stevie", another man with whom Mr Egan had become friendly.
In evidence, Garda Gareth Billings said that when he was arrested, the accused gave the name Martin Egan. He had used that name to give the impression to neighbours they were brothers, not partners.
Questioned by Mr Patrick McCarthy SC, the witness said that in interview, Mr Merrigan said the deceased "melted my head for two hours". He was saying "Stevie this and Stevie that . . . Stevie was the main man." The accused had drunk 12 or 13 cans of alcohol, the court heard.
He told gardaí he "just wanted to give him (Egan) a few slaps so he'd stop going on about Stevie" but that the deceased "came at me first." The witness claimed the accused said: "I stuck the fork into his neck" and the fork bent. He said the deceased had swore at him and said he should have left him (Merrigan) on the streets where he found him.
The accused stuck a screwdriver into the deceased's neck and he fell back and hit his head on two planks of wood that were lying on the floor. "I didn't intend to kill him, I swear to God I didn't", he allegedly told gardaí.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Egan. The trial continues today.