The son of a woman accused of murdering her husband yesterday told of constant rows between his parents and of his father's drunkenness and violence towards the accused.
Mr Brian O'Neill was giving evidence in the trial of Ms Dolores O'Neill for the murder of her husband, Declan, at their home at Coolamber Park, Templeogue, Dublin, on or about July 22nd, 2002. The accused, a civil servant with the Equality Authority, denies the charge.
The Central Criminal Court heard that the deceased sustained 24 blows to the head with a hammer and 21 knife wounds to the neck in a "frenzied attack".
Questioned by Mr Roger Sweeetman SC, prosecuting, Mr Brian O'Neill (23) said he frequently intervened in late-night rows between his parents. His father stayed out drinking after work, returning home at three or four in the morning, and this had been a pattern for some years before the killing.
Asked what effect this had had on his parents' relationship he replied: "It put a strain on it." Cross-examined by Mr Felix McEnroy SC, defending, Mr O'Neill said his father was drinking and coming home late "on a regular basis - all the time" and sometimes disappearing for days on end.
His mother would then confront her husband, at which point he would go upstairs and "blare music". Mr O'Neill said he regularly intervened and tried to calm the situation. The family was also short of money because of his father's drinking.
He recalled one incident when his father returned drunk and attempted to drive the car. The witness and his mother "pinned him down" and took the car keys from him.
"My mother lost her brother to a drunk driver. She felt strongly about it," he added.
On another occasion, Mr O'Neill said, he noticed his mother had a bloodied nose, but she did not seem to notice this herself until he pointed it out. She told him "there was a bit of a scuffle and Declan might have hit her by accident."
Asked by Mr McEnroy if he believed that he replied: "Not at all. My mam was trying to contain the situation."
He told the court that the weekend before the killing his parents and younger brother, Conor, went to Cork. He was working part-time in an off-licence and on Sunday his mother arrived to pick him up.
"I could see, obviously, on her face there was a very large bruise. She asked me not to say anything to Declan about it. She said Declan was opening a door and that he hit her by accident." He said: "My mam was just trying to keep everything whole."
On the night of the killing, he and Conor went to the cinema, returning shortly before midnight. Ms O'Neill was sitting in their father's car. She told them to get in and drove to their aunt's house in Wicklow.
He said he kept asking her what had happened. Asked by Mr McEnroy if he had ever seen his mother strike his father, Mr O'Neill replied: "No, never."
Conor O'Neill (17) gave evidence of having heard a sound "like a slap" coming from his parents' hotel room during the Cork trip.
In other evidence, the retired state pathologist, Prof John Harbison, told the court the deceased sustained approximately 24 blows to the head and 21 knife wounds to the neck. This caused extensive bleeding to the skull and surface of the brain.
The cause of death was fractures to the skull from multiple blows to the head, he said. The knife wounds caused extensive bleeding but had not severed any major blood vessels.
Brian and Conor O'Neill sat behind their mother in the dock as Prof Harbison outlined the extent of the injuries. He was shown a heavyweight hammer which he identified as that found by gardaí in a shower tray off the bedroom.
Under cross-examination, he agreed with Mr McEnroy that the injuries were consistent with "a frenzied attack".
"To me, it suggests some derangement" by the assailant at the time the injuries were inflicted. "I think the term overkill might be used," Prof Harbison added.
The trial continues today.