A WOMAN who was stabbed in the leg during an incident in which a 27-year-old man was killed later told gardaí that her ex-boyfriend had carried out the stabbings, a court heard yesterday.
John Flaherty (25) of Árd Daire, Ferrybank, Waterford, denies the murder of Patrick Murphy who died in hospital shortly after suffering multiple stab wounds to his head and body.
The trial of Mr Flaherty began earlier this week but had to be restarted yesterday after two jurors were discharged on Thursday and defence counsel were not happy to proceed with a jury of 10.
The case against Mr Flaherty, who has admitted assaulting his ex-girlfriend Amy Quigley (25), causing her harm, was outlined yesterday at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Waterford.
Mr Flaherty arrived at Ms Quigley’s house at about 5am on Sunday, June 26th of last year, and saw that she was asleep in bed with Patrick Murphy and one of the three children Mr Flaherty and Ms Quigley had together when they were in a relationship.
Mr Murphy had been in a relationship with Louise Quigley, a sister of Amy.
Patrick McCarthy SC, prosecuting, said that after punching Mr Murphy, Mr Flaherty went downstairs, got knives from the kitchen area, and went back up to the bedroom and stabbed Mr Murphy in the abdomen.
“The fatal wound was about 8½in long and 2in wide,” Mr McCarthy said. “It almost came out his back.”
Mr Murphy was still alive when paramedics arrived at the house, but died later in Waterford Regional Hospital.
Sgt Patrick Casey said he got to the house at The Glen in Waterford after 5.30am, just after two other gardaí arrived on the scene.
“To the left hand side of the door I observed a male lying on the ground,” he told the court. “I could see there was blood on the hall and a lot of blood surrounding the male on the ground. He had some intestines protruding from his stomach, from a wound.”
He also saw “multiple minor stab wounds” on Mr Murphy’s body and “a number of serious stab wounds” to his head. The victim wasn’t able to speak to the gardaí, who attempted to keep him conscious until the ambulance arrived.
Another garda told him later that Mr Flaherty was named by Amy Quigley as the offender, Sgt Casey said. She had suffered a non-life-threatening stab wound to her leg.
Garda David Cahalane, who arrived at the scene just before the sergeant, said he saw the injured man had “a large slash wound across his abdomen, and his intestines were protruding”. He had “fierce difficulty breathing”, the garda said.
The trial continues on Monday before Mr Justice George Birmingham and a jury of eight men and four women.