A 38-year-old man has been convicted of the manslaughter of his housemate after a row over his failure to bring ribs home from the butcher.
The Central Criminal Court trial heard Deivydas Zigelis and Alexander Karpovs had spent the day of the incident drinking with another man in their house in Portarlington, Co Laois.
Zigelis sent Mr Karpovs (26) out to buy cider and ribs that afternoon but he arrived home without the meat. Zigelis became ‘offended’ when he would not go back out for them and stabbed Mr Karpovs with a kitchen knife.
Mr Karpovs, who was originally from Latvia, died of a single stab wound to the heart at the house on Spa Street on February 15th, 2014.
Zigelis, from Lithuania, pleaded not guilty to his murder, but guilty to his manslaughter. The court heard both men worked as bin collectors during the week, but spent their weekends drinking at home.
The jurors saw photographs of their filthy house, the floors strewn with debris, broken crockery, drink cans and empty cigarette boxes. A garda testified that the only food he could see in the kitchen was a bag of sugar.
A friend of the two told the court he went to their house that morning because he could not find any cider in his own home. They spent the day drinking with he and the deceased consuming vodka and the accused drinking cider.
He testified that he continued watching television when he saw the accused run towards the deceased with a knife because there were often conflicts in the house. He said he later saw blood, and the accused asked him where it was coming from.
The court saw CCTV footage of Mr Karpovs making a number of trips to an off licence that day. He was also seen entering a butcher’s shop that afternoon but leaving without purchasing anything.
The accused told gardaí that his housemate had returned from the shops with cider, but without ribs.
“I took the cider and told him go back to the butcher and get the ribs,” he said, explaining that his housemate refused to do so.
“I got offended. I took a knife and hit him,” he continued. “I took the knife out of his body and put it beside the sink.”
Shane Costello SC, prosecuting, said Mr Karpovs had not done what he was told. Mr Costello also told the jurors not to let the men’s “pathetic living circumstances” affect their deliberations and that intoxication was not a defence.
“He intended to kill or cause serious injury, even if only for a fraction of a second, even if drunk,” he said.
Conor Devally SC, defending, noted that his client had told gardaí it was not his intention to hurt his housemate and was puzzled as to how it happened.
“The possibility he had no idea what he had done remains very active,” he said.
“Intoxication is not being promoted as a defence...Just that intent is absent.”
The jury deliberated for almost six hours over two days before returning with a unanimous verdict.
The foreman said that the verdict was not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
Mr Justice Paul Butler remanded Zigelis in custody until July 26th, when a date will be set for sentencing.