A late-night "tussle" with a knife in a row between a father and son resulted in the death of the son, a murder trial jury heard at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
Opening the case for the prosecution on the first day of the murder trial of Mr Thomas Groome, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, contended that the death of Mr Christopher Groome was the "result of a deliberate act on the part of Thomas Groome".
Mr Thomas Groome (47), the father of the deceased, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his son, Mr Christopher Groome, in his caravan at Churchview Heights, Edenderry, Co Offaly, on November 15th, 1999.
Mr Sammon told the jury of seven men and five women the case was "especially sad because there is a relationship between the accused and the deceased, that of father and son".
He said the deceased, Mr Christopher Groome, who was in a relationship with a Ms Kelly Richardson and had one daughter, Amber, had decided to visit and stay with his father two weeks before his death.
The prosecution said that the accused was doing some karaoke work in an Edenderry pub on the evening of November 14th, 1999, and his son and his son's girlfriend went along to help him set up the equipment. Mr Sammon told the jury they would hear evidence about the "small amounts of drink Christopher Groome and Kelly Richardson had" before closing time at the pub.
After leaving the pub, the accused, his son and his girlfriend stopped at a disco before returning to pick up the child Amber at the babysitter's house. They decided not to disturb her and all three returned to the caravan at about 3 a.m.
"It would appear there was some type of tension building up between Thomas Groome and his son," Mr Sammon told the court.
"A type of niggling seems to have been going on from Thomas Groome directed at Christopher Groome."
Ms Richardson set about cooking sausages and burgers for Mr Christopher Groome while he retired to bed "to avoid the niggling that was going on between his father and himself".
He said a row erupted, and Mr Thomas Groome went to attack Mr Christopher Groome, "who was in the bed, but got up to meet it and a scuffle or tussle started".
"At some stage Thomas Groome brought into that a knife, and used that knife, and caused injury to Christopher Groome, leading to his death," Mr Sammon told the jury. "It is for you to decide whether that act that caused the death of Christopher Groome was murder or not."
The trial continues today.