A 65-year-old man described as “a kind person who would help people” died from traumatic head injuries suffered during an attack by a then 19-year-old man who had come to live with him, a murder trial jury has heard.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Paul J Carroll SC, told the commencement of the trial of Brian Ibe (24), who is charged with the murder of Peter Kennedy in Co Kildare five years ago, that there “isn’t any contest” that the defendant carried out an attack on Mr Kennedy, who died as a result.
Mr Ibe, of no fixed abode and formerly of Moore Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Mr Kennedy between April 28th and May 12th, 2020, both dates inclusive, in Newbridge.
He also pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to assault causing harm to Garda Brendan O’Donnell at Newbridge Garda station on or about April 29th, 2020.
Dublin schoolteacher claims she has been wrongly identified as ‘GAA catfish’ featured on 2 Johnnies podcast
Web Summit case: Paddy Cosgrave’s use of complaint against Daire Hickey ‘reprehensible’, court hears
‘I had a breakdown’: Dublin office worker accused of passing trade secrets to rival firm has destroyed phone, court hears
Donald Trump and Elon Musk won’t be able to go on ignoring the damage to the bottom line
In his opening speech at the Central Criminal Court on Wednesday, Mr Carroll said that for the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, the jury had to be satisfied that the accused was suffering at the time from a mental disorder and that he did not know the nature or quality of the act, or did not know that what he was doing was wrong, or could not refrain from the act. In those circumstances, he said the jury could return a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Mr Carroll said that the law goes on to say that if the jury were not satisfied of those matters, they could further consider a verdict of diminished responsibility. For this verdict to be returned, the jury had to find that the accused was suffering from a mental disorder, which diminished his responsibility for the act. He said that in these circumstances, the jury should find him guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
“There isn’t any contest that he carried out an attack on the deceased and the deceased died as a result of that attack,” said Mr Carroll, going on to tell the jury that the burden of proof in this case rested on the defence to convince the jury that these special verdicts of not guilty were open to them.
He said that it is the prosecution contention that the jury should not return these verdicts, as on the basis of psychiatric evidence available to the prosecution, the accused was not “within the ingredients” of not guilty by reason of insanity or diminished responsibility.
Outlining the proposed evidence and factual matters of the case, Mr Carroll said that the deceased man, who had just turned 65 and was retired from the probation services, was “a kind person who would help people”.
The mother of the accused, Martha Ibe, had an issue with homelessness and came to live with Mr Kennedy, with her son also moving into Mr Kennedy’s home around September 2019, when he was 19.
Mr Carroll said that problems arose prior to Christmas of 2019, with disputes between Mr Kennedy and the accused, so Mr Ibe left the house and came to Dublin, where he resided at a hostel run by the Peter McVerry Trust in Walkinstown. Counsel said that on April 28th, 2020, the accused left the hostel and got a taxi to Newbridge, where he entered Mr Kennedy’s house through the rear after smashing a window.
Mr Carroll said that the accused’s mother, who was present at the time, would give evidence that the accused attacked Mr Kennedy with what she believed was a knife, making “jabbing motions”. She left to get assistance, and when gardaí arrived they found Mr Kennedy on the floor upstairs with serious head injuries lying in a pool of blood. He was brought to Beaumont Hospital but died from his injuries on May 12th, 2020.
Mr Carroll said that State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers found significant blunt force had been used to the side of Mr Kennedy’s head, which was the result of kicking or the use of a blunt object, with the cause of death being traumatic head injuries.
The jury also viewed CCTV footage of the accused’s movements on the day, which was shown by Garda Declan Murphy of Newbridge Garda station. Garda Murphy gave evidence to Mr Carroll that a portion of the footage showed the accused at the hostel in Walkinstown picking up an object from a kitchen drawer that appeared to be a knife.
Garda Murphy confirmed that a later portion of the CCTV footage obtained from a residence at Moore Park contained audio of the sound of breaking glass.
The trial continues on Thursday before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and the jury of six men and six women.
