A man bled to death after being shot through the right lung, a jury in the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.
The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, told the murder trial jury that one of the bullets travelled through the man's right lung and ended up in his neck.
The right lung filled with blood and made breathing difficult, which would have quickened his death, Dr Harbison said.
Mr Patrick Brennan (53) of St Ita's Street, St Mary's Park, Limerick has denied the murder of Mr Sean Colbert (53), a father of eight, of Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick. He was killed outside his home on August 9th, 1996.
Mr William O'Neill (27) of no fixed abode but previously of Garryowen, Co Limerick, and Mr Brennan's son, Mr Andrew Brennan (28), of St Munchin's Street, St Mary's Park, have also denied murdering Mr Colbert.
Ms Trudy Brennan, the daughter of one of the accused men, who had been Mr O'Neill's girlfriend in August 1996, said she had told gardai that Mr O'Neill was not in their home when the murder occurred, but that she had done so "under duress".
Giving evidence on the second day of the trial, Dr Harbison said he removed two bullets from the body that corresponded to two entry wounds he found. Death was due to internal bleeding caused by the puncturing of the right lung. A second bullet lodged in the hip did not contribute significantly to death, he said.
The prosecution claims Mr Patrick Brennan "procured" his son Andrew and Mr O'Neill to kill Mr Colbert, who had been having an affair with Mr Brennan's estranged wife.
The court has heard that Mr Colbert was returning from a pub and was walking up the steps of his home when the shots were fired.
Bullets found at the scene and injuries to his body indicated that a .22 revolver was fired, and that before the shots were heard two men dressed in black and wearing balaclava-type hats were seen approaching the area. The trial before Mr Justice Quirke and a jury of seven men and five women will continue after legal argument on Tuesday.