The mother of a Laois teenager who was allegedly hammered to death over a mobile phone yesterday told the Central Criminal Court that she rang her son's phone repeatedly on the night he died.
"When I rang, I got the message, 'This phone is out of service'. I rang and I rang and I rang," an emotional Ms Patricia Conroy said.
The 16-year-old accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murdering Daragh Conroy (14), Briar Lane, Mountmellick, Co Laois.
The boy's body was found on waste ground in an area known as Smith's Field on the town's outskirts at around 11 p.m. on November 11th, 2003.
The victim's mother gave evidence yesterday at the trial. She said that after she and her husband separated, Daragh, her only child, lived with her in a flat in Mountmellick. On the morning of November 11th, Ms Conroy said, Daragh was with her in the flat. "I was getting ready for work and Daragh was getting ready for school."
Ms Conroy, who worked for a solicitor in Portlaoise, left the flat at 8.25 a.m. At 9 a.m., she said, Daragh rang and told her he had an earache. "He said his ear was oozing. I told him to get back into bed and that I would get a repeat prescription of antibiotics." That day she rang her son "on numerous occasions".
Before leaving work at 5 p.m., she rang him on his mobile. "He said he was going to meet some of his friends ... I said I would get his tablets for him, and that was the last time I spoke to him," Ms Conroy said.
When she got home at 5.30 p.m., she presumed he was still out. She then became concerned and rang him before 6 p.m. "When I rang, I got the message, 'This phone is out of service'. I rang and I rang and I rang. I texted him. I checked his number and I rang again and there was still no answer."
She said her son's mobile was only a few weeks old. "That's why I bought it, so we could stay in touch with each other."
The tearful mother told the jury of five men and seven women that Daragh's phone was a Nokia 3510 and that it was gold with a cream back or base.
Mr Michael Redmond (29), Toomey Park, Mountmellick, said the accused called in to him between 4 p.m. and 4.30 p.m.
"He had a phone for me," he said, adding that the 16-year-old allegedly sold him a phone "the week before and it wasn't working, so he said he would get me another one".
The accused, according to Mr Redmond, called back at 5.50 p.m. with a new phone. The victim's phone, a Nokia 3510 with a cream back and a gold front, was shown to Mr Redmond in court, who said, "That's the same phone, the same model anyway." He said he brought the phone to the gardaí in Portlaoise the next day.
Mr Emmet Houlihan (18), Mountmellick, said he returned from Westport, where he had been working at 8.30 p.m. on the night in question.
When he rang the accused, whom he has known "most of his life", the accused allegedly said, "I've some scary shit to say to you."
On meeting the accused, he claimed, the accused said: "I'm after killing Daragh Conroy." Mr Houlihan said the accused said he called Daragh "down the fields and hit him eight times with a hammer. The second-last blow was fatal".
Mr Houlihan said that at 10 p.m. that night he went with the accused and three other youngsters "down to see if the body was really there ... I didn't go near the body, we only went half-way. I didn't want to see the body."
Mr Martin Santry (18), Mountmellick, told the jury the accused said he "lured Daragh Conroy down the field and hit the back of his head with a hammer a couple of times".
The trial continues in the Central Criminal Court before Mr Justice White.