YOUNG man heard his uncle and another man say an alleged murder victim was buried in a field near Cork city, the Central Criminal Court has been told.
Mr Michael Flannery was continuing his evidence on the fourth day of the trial of his uncle, Mr Frederick Flannery (35), of no fixed abode. The latter has denied the murder of Mr Denis Patrick O'Driscoll (33) at Wellington Terrace, Cork, between December 15th and 31st, 1994.
The State contends Mr Frederick Flannery murdered Mr O'Driscoll, dismembered his body and disposed of it.
Mr Michael Flannery told the court the two men said they were going "to dig him back up" and bury him in another field. But one had said it was too wet and they arranged to meet the following day. The witness said he never turned up. His uncle had called to his home later and asked him why and he told him he was "grounded".
Mr Flannery said his uncle "told me to keep it cool and keep quiet about Patrick. He said if I ever got worried about it to come up to him and he would talk to me about it".
In court yesterday, Mr Michael Flannery said he went with his uncle on a motorbike to a gate near the Vienna Woods Hotel. He waited at the gate while his uncle fetched another man. Then his uncle went off again.
He said the defendant returned on foot with a shovel about 45 minutes to one hour later. The two men said "Pa" was buried in a pathway several fields away. They said they were going to dig him up again and bury him in the field where they were, the witness said.
Some days after he had been in the field with the defendant and the other man, the defendant had called to his home and told him to "keep it cool and keep quiet about Patrick", said the witness.
He saw the defendant in the other man's house some weeks later. The defendant brought in a tablet box and said to the other man: "Be a good boy, because Pa is watching you." The witness said the defendant said "Patrick's eye was in the box."
Later he went to a residential centre for drug treatment, the witness said. Some months after that he took gardai to the field where he said he had been with the defendant and the other man.
He was with the gardai and his father. He pointed out an area of the field to the gardai and his father found a place where the earth was disturbed.
Cross examined by Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, defending, Mr Flannery said he began to drink around the age of 14 and began to use cannabis around the age of 15 or 16.
Mr Flannery said his uncle had brought him to Wellington Terrace on the night when he later said he had seen an arm and a leg in the defendant's flat. He couldn't remember telling the court on Wednesday that he had just called into the flat that night.
He said he had been smoking cannabis earlier that day and smoked some more in the house. The limbs were in shadow, he said, and the defendant told him he was "after killing Patrick".
Mr Flannery said he was shocked by what he saw. "I was going to run out of it but I was afraid", he said.
He went from Wellington Terrace in a car with another man and woman to a house in Cork city. In the car were bags with what he thought were body parts, Mr Flannery said. When they got to the house two other women and a man were there. Mr Flannery said the bags in the car were moved into the back room of the house which was used for visitors.
He said there was blood in the back of the car. Mr MacEntee said forensic tests had established no blood stains in the car or on the clothes, the witness was wearing that night.
Later that, night the defendant gave him a lift home and told him not to open his mouth to anyone, the witness said.
The trial continues.