Woman saw murder accused with a weapon, court hears
A woman has told the trial of a 21-year-old accused of murdering a man in north Dublin three years ago that she saw him with a weapon.
Michael Kinsella of Swiftbrook Close in Tallaght and previously of Ardkeen, Cavan town, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Adil Essalhi (31) at Tyrrelstown, Co.Dublin on January 6, 2011.
The trial has already heard that the accused’s uncle Wayne Kinsella was convicted of murder.
Yesterday (Tuesday) Natasha Carey told the Central Criminal Court that she was staying in Martina Deegan’s house in Tyrrelstown at the time of the incident and was eight months pregnant with Wayne Kinsella’s child.
She told Mr Alex Owens SC prosecuting that Mr Essalhi arrived back to the house with Martina Deegan and Wayne Kinsella and that Michael Kinsella arrived an hour or two later.
She said she went to the off-licence with Mr Essahli and that she bought “relaxer tablets”.
She said she went into the en suite bathroom to roll a joint because she was “not in the mood for drinking.”
Ms Carey said the group were drinking and partying upstairs and that Mr Essahli was showing her pictures of his children.
She said Mr Essahli was in “good condition” when he arrived at the apartment and he was “not that drunk”.
Ms Carey told the court that everything was ok and everyone was getting on.
Ms Carey gave evidence that Michael said Mr Essahli had told him that he was the driver in the shooting of Wayne Kinsella’a brother Lee.
She told the court that she told Michael to “cop on” and asked him why he would say that.
Ms Carey said she went back into the sitting room and the atmosphere started to change.
“Things just changed within seconds,” she said.
She said Michael had a weapon and he woke Wayne up with a “couple of boots in the legs”.
Ms Carey said Michael, Wayne and Mr Essahli left the apartment and only Wayne and Michael came back.
She said she saw blood on the weapon and on Michael but that she did not see any blood on Wayne.
“Michael said about the blood coming out of his neck – doing the noises,” she said.
She told the court Michael was getting changed out of his clothes and Wayne was washing his hands.
She said Michael left 45 minutes later and his clothes were put in the washing machine.
Ms Carey said the next day she went up to the fields with Wayne Kinsella.
“I got walked up to the fields with Wayne…I just seen the top of a head like,” she said.
Under cross-examination she admitted she told lies in Wayne Kinsella’s trial and to gardai.
She agreed Ms Carey agreed with Mr Patrick Marrinan SC defending that she never mentioned to gardai that Michael had a knife.
She said there was an agreement to keep Michael Kinsella “out of it” because he was too young.
“That was the whole idea, to put the blame on Wayne and to keep Michael out of it - Michael was so young like,” she said.
She said she changed her story because she came off heroin and was having nightmares about that night and also because she had lost a brother and sister herself.
“I don’t know what happened in that field but his life was taken so who was it?” she said.
She said Michael was “bragging about it” and “Wayne wasn’t saying anything”.
State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy previously told the court that Mr Essalhi’s body, which was discovered in a ditch some days after he died, had 58 separate injuries with 19 chop wounds to the skull and facial bones and there was evidence of post mortem burning.
The trial continues.