THE CENTRAL Criminal Court has heard that a man on trial for murder had confessed to gardaí that he had stabbed his victim, “stuck” his body in the boot and had intended to burn the car at a halting site.
Garda Pat Muldowney was giving evidence in the trial of Stephen Penrose (27), who denies murdering David Sharkey (28), a father of one, at an apartment at Parkview, Blackcastle, Navan, Co Meath, on May 17th, 2009.
Mr Sharkey was stabbed 10 times with an 18cm blade which penetrated his heart, stomach and liver. Penrose, of no fixed abode, admitted manslaughter, but the DPP rejected this and he is being tried for murder.
In interviews with Penrose, Garda Muldowney said he repeatedly told him he was “sick from drugs”. He had said he told Mr Sharkey he had money for an ounce of heroin on May 17th, but was going to steal it when Mr Sharkey arrived at the apartment.
Penrose said he spent the previous night taking drugs at the apartment and he “forced” the woman living there to repeatedly ring Mr Sharkey asking for heroin.
When Mr Sharkey arrived at the apartment with the heroin, Penrose told him he had to go out to his car to get the money. He said Mr Sharkey would not let him out the door and produced a small knife, saying he wanted his money or the heroin back.
Penrose said he pulled his own knife when Mr Sharkey “made a swipe” at him and stabbed him “three of four times”. He used a black towel and bleach to clean up the scene.
He found Mr Sharkey’s BMW keys in his pocket, “stuck” the body in the boot and put his own bloodstained clothes into a bag.
“It was all a panic . . . nothing was premeditated, he pulled a knife on me.” He drove the BMW to Dunsink Lane, Finglas, where he planned to burn everything, but he said “gardaí flew in on top” of him, so he ran.
The trial resumes on Tuesday.