A murder trial at the Central Criminal Court has heard that a 27-year-old man received “unsurvivable” injuries in an attack in Dublin last year.
A jury of nine men and three women was listening to the opening speech in the trial of three Dublin men charged with murdering Lukasz Rzeszutko, who was attacked on October 2nd, 2010 in Newtown Industrial Estate in Coolock.
Edward Byrne (21) of Cabra Park, Cabra; Martin Morgan (20) of Tonlegee Road, Raheny; and Stephen Byrne (18) of St Donagh’s Road, Donaghmede have all pleaded not guilty to his murder.
Aileen Donnelly SC, prosecuting, said Mr Rzeszutko died at Beaumont hospital two days after the attack as a result of skull and brain injuries sustained two days earlier. Fractures to his skull, bruising and bleeding to his brain, and injuries to his face were caused by blunt force trauma, she said.
“It’s the prosecution case that these injuries were inflicted on him by the accused in an assault,” she said.
“It’s the prosecution case that each of them participated in the assault and that each had the intention to kill or at least cause serious injury to Mr Rzeszutko,” she continued, saying that this would make them guilty of murder.
Ms Donnelly explained that the victim had come from Poland to work here. She said he was hard-working and his employer in Kish Fish, Tadhg O’Meara, viewed him as "a model worker". She said Mr Rzeszutko’s two brothers also worked in Kish Fish but worked different shifts from him.
The victim usually walked to and from work and on the day he was attacked, was due in to work in early in the morning. A colleague leaving work at 4.30am drove out the gate of Kish Fish and saw a person lying on the ground, but did not recognise him.
“He got out of the car and thought this man was dead,” said Ms Donnelly. “Then he thought he heard a snore and rang an ambulance.”
Mr O’Meara also came on the scene but also did not recognise the victim due to his injuries. He still had his bag on his back and had his mobile phone and wallet and was soon identified as being Mr Rzeszutko.
Paramedics worked on him at the scene and he was rushed to Beaumont hospital.
“The doctor treating him took the view that his injuries were unsurvivable, said Ms Donnelly.
She said that the prosecution would present evidence to the jury that would show the three accused and two teenaged girls had been in the vicinity where Mr Rzeszutko was found.
She said Edward Byrne and Stephen Byrne were not related but Edward Byrne and Martin Morgan were cousins.
“It is the prosecution case that the three accused participated in this devastating assault, leading to these catastrophic injuries and intended to kill or seriously injure Mr Rzeszutko,” she said.
The trial is expected to last three to four weeks before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy.