THE TRIAL of a Cavan man accused of murder has heard that two men were seen running from the housing estate where the deceased man had lived, minutes after his alleged murder.
The jury at the Central Criminal Court has also heard that the deceased man’s partner screamed at her neighbour that the accused man was the assailant.
Trevor McCabe (34), Mountpleasant, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, has denied murdering Darren McGrath (33) in Belturbet, Co Cavan, on May 20th last year. The prosecution alleges that Mr McCabe shot Mr McGrath as he slept.
Andrea Murphy, a neighbour of the deceased, told the court that she awoke to a “bang” at 4.50am on the morning of the alleged murder. She thought her baby had fallen out of her cot so she ran to the room to check, the court heard. When she saw that the baby was still sleeping, she returned to her bedroom. Ms Murphy heard a second bang, followed by “screaming” from next door.
She ran next door and saw Nicole Lennon, the deceased’s partner, who was on the landing, the court heard. “She was hysterical. She was screaming, ‘Darren [McGrath]’s shot, he’s shot, Trevor shot him, Darren’s been shot’. ’’
Darren Murphy told the court that he was awoken after he heard his wife, the previous witness, shouting. “I looked out the window, left and right, and saw two people running around the top of the estate, disappearing around the top house. The second man stopped at a corner. He had something covering his mouth and nose. He looked back at the houses. After he stopped, he took off running as best he could. He was impaired with a bad limp. I think it was his left leg.”
Adam McGrath, from Cork, told the court that he spent most of the weekend before the alleged murder with his brother, the deceased. En route to a motorcycle rally in Portrush, Co Antrim, they met the accused, Mr McCabe, who was driving a white van. Mr McGrath said that he had seen the accused in his brother’s company “a few times”. The trial continues.