A Lithuanian man convicted of manslaughter for the fatal stabbing of his friend six days after they arrived in Ireland was jailed for five years at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
Donatus Sutkus (23), of no fixed abode, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Andrius Zakarauskas (26) at St Joseph's Villas, Dublin, on November 20th, 2004.
Sentencing him, Mr Justice Paul Carney said he took into account Sutkus's "youth, his realistic plans for when he puts this matter behind him, and the loneliness in Irish prisons".
He disregarded his previous convictions because they were a different type of offence. Of all the killings that involved knives, this was of the "least serious and culpable" sort. He also factored in his co-operation with gardaí.
Justice Carney added: "I recollect this was a particularly lonely trial from the perspective of both sides."
He noted failed efforts made by investigating garda Det Sgt Gerry McDonnell to obtain funding from the Department of Finance to transport the victim's family to Ireland. "It's a great credit to the humanity of the gardaí that it was part of their objective to realise this aim."
In the hours before the incident, the two had been drinking and watching films with other people in a flat off North Circular Road in Dublin. The only witness was a relative of the victim, Roman Cernenko, who told the court he felt pressurised to give evidence in favour of the deceased.
He also told the court his cousin had been in prison in Lithuania and that his drug problem had been severe.
In his evidence, Sutkus said he had been friends with the victim from a young age but did not see him again until he was sent to prison for theft. Mr Zakarauskas was already serving a sentence in the same prison.
He said they came to Ireland to see the country and meet friends. He could not remember what they were fighting about but said that the victim was a "dangerous man" who always carried a knife in his pocket.
He said he tried to get the victim to calm down when the row broke out, but when he saw the victim's gaze look toward a knife on the table, he claimed he knew he had to get the knife.
"It was either me or him."
Mr Cernenko said he thought Sutkus had only been boxing his cousin, and he did not realise he had stabbed him until they let go of each other. It was Sutkus who suggested they call an ambulance. Because none of them knew the number, Sutkus had to call a friend to find out. Once the ambulance was called, he left the flat.
Sutkus said he left the flat "in a panic". He decided to go to the same friend in Mullingar who gave him the emergency services number, where he planned to call his family and a solicitor.
Det Sgt McDonnell said they arrested Sutkus later that day after they found him in a car park in Mullingar under a blanket in his car.