A 30-YEAR-OLD man stabbed while in bed died from shock and haemorrhage and a collapsed lung, the trial of two brothers charged with his murder heard yesterday.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told the trial of brothers Shane O’Riordan (19) and Gerard O’Riordan (28) that James Brazier suffered 12 stab wounds to the back as well as bruising to the face and head.
The brothers, from Arbutus Grove, Killarney, Co Kerry, are on trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork, where they deny the murder of Mr Brazier in Pinewood Estate, Killarney, in the early hours of April 15th, 2007.
Dr Bolster said that all 12 stab wounds were to Mr Brazier’s back and they varied in depth but she believed they were all inflicted with the same knife or similar knives.
Dr Bolster said all the wounds were wider at one end than the other and this indicated that the knife used was single-bladed and the wounds were consistent with being inflicted by a knife found by gardaí at the entrance to Pinewood Estate, she said.
Mr Brazier also suffered bruising to his face and head consistent with being hit with a fist and stamped on, while a circular bruise near his eye was consistent with having a round metal rod such as the metal leg of a chair jabbed at him, she said.
Cross-examined by Tom Creed SC, for Gerard O’Riordan, Dr Bolster said there was no evidence of any underlying trauma to the brain, leading her to believe that had Mr Brazier suffered simply the bruise injuries, he would have recovered.
The jury also heard evidence from Dr Yvonne O’Dowd, of the DNA forensic section of the Garda laboratory in Dublin, who said she examined blood samples taken from a knife and a number of locations, including the house where Mr Brazier was killed.
Dr O’Dowd said she had also obtained DNA samples from Mr Brazier as well as the two accused and had conducted a number of tests to try and identify the blood found on both the knife blade and the knife handle and a number of locations in the vicinity of the killing.
She found the blood on the blade matched the DNA sample from Mr Brazier and the chances of it belonging to anyone else was less than one in 1,000 million.
Dr O’Dowd also found a mixed DNA profile on the knife handle with one matching the DNA sample from Mr Brazier, while the other matched the DNA sample obtained from Shane O’Riordan and the chances of it belonging to anyone else were less than one in 178 million, she said.
She also examined a blood sample taken from outside the house where Mr Brazier was killed and found it also matched the DNA sample provided by Shane O’Riordan and the chances of it coming from anyone else were less than one in 550,000.
A test on a blood sample found in the hallway of the house in Pinewood where Mr Brazier was killed was also found to match the DNA sample taken from Shane O’Riordan and the chances of it coming from anyone else was less than one in 1,000 million, Dr O’Dowd said.
The case continues tomorrow.