THE JURY in the Central Criminal Court trial of a teenager accused of murdering his father has heard that the deceased died from blunt force trauma to the head, complicated by a crush injury to the chest.
Thomas Cunningham (19), Santa Maria Commons, Ballinlough, Roscommon, denies murdering his father, Thomas Brendan Cunningham (46), at their home on August 23rd, 2007.
The accused told gardaí that he hit his father three times and kicked him once.
When the deceased failed to get up, the accused left him lying in the garden overnight with a pillow and duvet. When asked why he did not ring for an ambulance, the accused told gardaí: “I said I was done with him, I wasn’t going to help him any more.”
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy told Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, that the deceased had a high level of alcohol in his system at the time of his death and probably died about five or six hours after his last drink. The jury earlier heard evidence that the deceased had been seen drinking at 11.30pm.
The jury had heard the deceased had arrived home after midnight and an altercation with the accused occurred. The deceased was then left lying on his back in the garden overnight. The accused called an ambulance the next morning.
Prof Cassidy said the deceased had injuries to his head, face and neck, including bruising to his eyes, nose, mouth, the sides of his face and neck. He had two bruises to the back of his head, and the skin had split and was bleeding.
Small bones in the deceased’s neck were broken and he suffered fractured ribs.
His skull was not fractured but he suffered bleeding into his skull and brain, which created intracranial pressure.
Prof Cassidy said “an acute haemorrhage” to the brain caused unconsciousness.
She said the cumulative effect of multiple impacts to the head would have led to that haemorrhage. Injuries to the deceased’s chest would have hampered his ability to breathe. She said he exhibited no signs of having defended himself.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC, Prof Cassidy agreed that it was particularly difficult to pinpoint the cause of death in cases of “subdural haemorrhage”. She also agreed that the injuries may have been consistent with the account given by the accused.
She agreed that any impact to the deceased’s head in the 24-hour period before his death would have had some significance.
The jury earlier heard that the deceased was seen falling outside a pub in Castlerea in the hours before the altercation.
The trial continues.