THE FAMILY of a man who shot dead Dublin woman Donna Cleary at a party and later died in Garda custody is suing the State over his death.
Dwayne Foster (24) indiscriminately opened fire at a house party in Coolock, Dublin, in March 2006 killing Ms Cleary, a 22-year-old mother-of-one from Castlekevin Road, Coolock. Foster's family are now seeking compensation for his death by methadone intoxication while he was in Garda custody.
The case is expected to centre on the circumstances around which he was given methadone, a heroin replacement drug, while he was being held in connection with Ms Cleary's murder.
It is not clear when the High Court case will be heard.
None of the other three men Foster was with at the murder scene were charged in relation to Ms Cleary's murder. Gardaí could not prove the men acted with criminal intent and could not prove they knew Foster had a gun and planned to use it.
Foster was well-known to gardaí. He came to the Garda's attention as a teenager for joyriding. He later became involved in drug dealing and was a suspect in several major armed robberies.
On May 5th, 2006, Foster and four men tried to gain access to a 40th birthday party at a house on Adare Green, Coolock, but were turned away after a scuffle.
The men left the scene in a car and four of the five came back a short time later. Witnesses at Ms Cleary's inquest said they saw the gunman get out of the car carrying a firearm. Foster stood at the front of the house and fired five shots into the crowded property from a 9mm Luger pistol. One of the bullets wounded Ms Cleary in the chest. Ms Cleary's inquest 12 months ago heard she did not die instantly.
Garda Michael Leonard of Coolock Garda station told the inquest he arrived on the scene shortly after 2.30am and discovered her on the ground.
Ms Cleary was taken by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital but died a short time later. A postmortem confirmed she died from a gunshot wound to the right side of the chest, which caused shock and heavy internal haemorrhage. The bullet entered her lung.
Foster was identified by eyewitnesses as the man who fired the shots. Gardaí have never had any other suspect for the murder. Foster and his associates were arrested at a house in Kildare less than 24 hours after the murder.
He was taken to Coolock Garda station for questioning. A drug user and cancer survivor, he complained of feeling unwell and was seen by a doctor three times at the Garda station. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital to be examined but was taken back to the Garda station.
In the early hours of Tuesday May 7th, 2006, he was found in an unresponsive state in his cell at Coolock Garda station. He was taken by ambulance back to Beaumont Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3.15am.
Foster's inquest has not concluded, but at a hearing last December, the Coroner's Court heard Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis performed the postmortem and recorded the cause of death as methadone intoxication.
