A man accused of murder allegedly told gardai he killed a youth over a disagreement about drugs, a jury in the Central Criminal Court has been told.
Mr Michael O'Brien (27), single and unemployed, of Gallowsfield, Tralee, Co Kerry, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of James Healy (16), of Shanakill, Tralee, at Monavalley Industrial Estate, Tralee, on or about February 22nd, 1997.
In a statement on March 22nd, 1997, Mr O'Brien allegedly told gardai he had murdered Mr Healy by giving him "a good few belts with the bar" after Mr O'Brien learned the deceased had been using drugs in the form of "tablets".
The accused allegedly said he "didn't mind smoking hash, but using tablets and all, they f.. k up the brain".
Mr O'Brien allegedly said Mr Healy had started associating with "drugs barons", but that he was a "fairly good troop".
Giving evidence, Det Sgt John Brennan told the jury Mr O'Brien i and said: "I gave him a good few belts with the bar and left it" on the body "in the field where you found him. I know I killed him but I only wanted to teach him a lesson".
Prior to making the statement, Mr O'Brien gave notes to gardai which formed a memo, Det Sgt Brennan said.
In it, Mr O'Brien allegedly said he had seen two men beating another man in a field near where the body was later found and that he believed the attacked man was Mr Healy.
"I saw James Healy being killed," the memo read. "I was passing the main road by FAS when I heard something, maybe a fight or something. I'll draw a map for you," it said.
Mr O'Brien drew a map for gardai which was presented to the court.
Det Sgt Brennan then said he asked Mr O'Brien what exactly he saw in the field.
"I couldn't see that well from the main road so I cycled towards the boatyard. I heard a lot of shouting and roaring."
The memo stated Mr O'Brien saw a man being "beaten by a bar by a couple of lads".
"I had a fair idea it was James Healy being beaten. I said to myself I better get out of here or I'll get the same death. I didn't think James Healy was dead you see, that's why I said nothing."
Mr O'Brien then allegedly agreed to make a statement.
Giving evidence, a senior clinical psychologist, Mr Colm Downing, said people with the same personality disorders as the accused, were prone to impulsive and violent outbursts.
Mr Downing, who had assessed Mr O'Brien using six verbal tests, told the court the accused suffered from an anti-social personality disorder and had a low verbal IQ.
Mr Downing said that in studies of offender populations, people suffering from that disorder with low verbal IQs, were "prone to acting in a very exaggerated fashion, impulsively and violently to a relatively innocuous remark".
Mr O'Brien and the deceased were allegedly associates who drank cider together occasionally at different places in Tralee town.
After having been missing for three days, Mr Healy's body was found on waste ground near a factory off the Monavalley Road in Tralee.
State Pathologist Prof John Harbison previously told the court death resulted from suffocation, head injuries and shock.
The trial before Mr Justice Kinlen continues today.