A 24-YEAR-OLD Tralee man killed a father of four by stamping on his head with his full body weight because the homeless man, whom he believed was HIV-positive, spat at him, the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday.
Brendan O’Connor (now 25), Molanee House, Monnavalley, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of fellow Kerry man Edward Joseph Clancy (50) on August 15th, 2006, on Bridge Street, Tralee.
He had originally pleaded not guilty to Mr Clancy’s murder, but changed his plea to guilty to manslaughter at the opening of his trial in November, having previously made no admissions in Garda interviews.
His plea was accepted by the DPP on the grounds that the spitting and argument constituted provocation.
Deirdre Murphy, prosecuting, said the men exchanged words outside a pub in the town in the early hours of that day. Mr Clancy spat at O’Connor before crossing the road and moving away.
Det Sgt Fergal Patwell quoted from witness statements that O’Connor caught up with Mr Clancy and grabbed him.
“Brendan O’Connor began punching Edward Joseph Clancy, knocked him to the ground and stamped on his head,” he said. He said there was no evidence that Mr Clancy resisted.
Ms Murphy said a postmortem found the base of Mr Clancy’s skull was completely fractured and there was extensive bruising to his head and face.
She said the pathologist described it as a targeted attack to the head, and Mr Clancy was pronounced dead at Tralee hospital within an hour.
Det Sgt Patwell said O’Connor had previous convictions for assault causing harm, drug possession for sale or supply, criminal damage, and public order offences including obstruction.
He agreed with David Goldberg, defending, that the deceased had 58 previous convictions, including one for stabbing.
He agreed it was widely believed Mr Clancy had HIV and that gardaí took precautions when dealing with him. “It appears there was no fact to it,” he added.
The court heard a victim-impact statement prepared by the victim’s daughter, Jane Gallagher.
“It was the most horrific and traumatic thing I’ve ever had to go through, to see my Dad in such a way,” she wrote.
Mr Goldberg said his client deeply regretted the killing and expressed genuine remorse. He said HIV could be transmitted by spitting. “In my submission, the provocation was sufficient to cause this particularly violent reaction,” he said.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy remanded O’Connor in custody for sentencing today.