A 42-YEAR-OLD man stabbed his neighbour to death with an ornamental dagger in a Co Tipperary village, a murder trial has heard.
The trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick was told the killing took place after the relationship between the next-door neighbours deteriorated, when one complained about the other’s children.
Richard Higgins of New Houses, Lattin, Co Tipperary, denies the murder of Seán Murphy (29) on January 17th, 2010 at Lattin. Mr Higgins also pleaded not guilty to three counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Mr Murphy and two counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Mr Murphy’s partner Paula Hassett on separate dates in October and December 2009.
Pauline Walley, counsel for the prosecution, said Mr Higgins had been living at No. 1 New Houses, Lattin, with his partner Emma Butler and that Mr Murphy had been living next door at No. 2 with his partner Ms Hassett and that both couples had a number of children.
Ms Walley said from 2007 the relationship between Ms Hassett and Ms Butler started to deteriorate. In October 2009 Ms Butler, called next door and made a complaint that Mr Murphy’s children had been behaving inappropriately. Mr Higgins then went into the next-door neighbour’s house wielding an axe, name calling and threatening to harm or kill Mr Murphy.
Gardaí were called but after they left Mr Higgins went back into the house and was making threats, and using the hand gesture of a gun, he said: “Bang, bang, you’re dead Seán and tell Paula she’s dead too,” the court heard.
On January 17th, 2010, Mr Murphy had been watching a match in a pub in Tipperary town when his partner collected him with their children. When Ms Hassett was driving back to Lattin she saw Mr Higgins standing outside the door of the local pub and as they passed he made a two-finger salute.
When Ms Hassett and her partner arrived home they saw Mr Higgins walking towards them shouting at Mr Murphy: “Come on now you c**t I’ll f***ing kill you.” Mr Higgins followed Mr Murphy into the garden of No 3 New Houses, and stabbed him with an ornamental dagger in the left side of his chest, the court was told.
The trial continues today.