The teenager accused of murdering Alan Higgins allegedly admitted to stabbing the Dublin youth, telling gardaí "I just stabbed the bloke, very sorry. I am very sorry, it wasn't meant to happen that way", a court was told yesterday.
The accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murdering Alan Higgins (17), Carraroe Avenue, the Donaghies, Donaghmede, Dublin, on October 13th, 2002, outside the UCI cinema in Coolock in north Dublin. The accused also denies robbing the victim's mobile phone and cash.
Det Insp Gerald Feeney told the Central Criminal Court that the accused, in the company of his father and mother, voluntarily gave a statement regarding the fatal stabbing on October 14th, 2002.
In his statement to gardaí, the accused said: "There was three of us and I did the stabbing with the steak knife. I got the knife out of my own house."
The accused told gardaí that he went with Anthony Whelan and Michael Maher to an off-licence in the hours leading up to Mr Higgins's fatal stabbing. "I had six cans and we smoked a joint," he said, behind St Monica's youth centre in Edenmore.
He told gardaí: "I was drunk at that stage." The three were there until 6 p.m., the accused told gardaí. After they were thrown out of a fast food restaurant in the UCI complex at 9.30 p.m., the three got into an altercation with some other boys.
Mr Whelan and Mr Maher pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Alan Higgins last week.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Henry Abbott.