A Dublin man who stabbed his brother to death on a city street was yesterday jailed for five years by Judge Frank O'Donnell.
Mr Karl Beresford was killed on his 30th birthday on January 7th, 1997, with a knife he was carrying for fear of attack by drugs vigilantes who had accused him of having drugs in his flat. William Beresford was attempting to disarm his brother when the stabbing occurred.
Beresford (28), single with two children, of St Joseph's Mansions, and Avondale House, Northumberland Street, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to manslaughter. Judge O'Donnell suspended the final two years.
Det Sgt Tim Daly told Mr Tom O'Connell, prosecuting, that shortly after midnight on the night of the stabbing the deceased left their flat with a friend to get more drink. They had been drinking for some hours.
He said another friend alerted the defendant that his brother had left with a knife and he ran to Upper Buckingham Street to disarm him. A verbal dispute over the knife followed and, in a rage, the deceased pulled the handle and his brother stabbed him twice in the heart and liver. He then ran across the road and threw the knife into the basement of a flat before returning to his brother to accompany him to hospital.
Det Sgt Daly said shortly after Beresford's brother was pronounced dead, he admitted everything to gardai and pointed out where he had thrown the knife. He said he never intended to kill his brother.
Det Sgt Daly said Beresford had a drink problem and had been involved in drugs. He and his family had suffered a lot since his brother's death. He agreed with Mr Eamonn Leahy SC, defending, that there was no animosity between the brothers before the incident and they had been in good humour.