Lisa Thompson, a mother of two who was stabbed 11 times in the chest, was dealing prescription drugs from her home and once gave a neighbour €20,000 to “hold on to” in case her house was raided by gardaí, a witness has told a murder trial.
In her opening speech, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Fiona Murphy SC said Thompson’s body was found inside the door of her home with multiple stab wounds to the chest and a window blind cord wrapped around the neck.
She said the 12 jurors would hear that a mixed DNA profile was found on the blind cord, to which the accused man couldn’t be excluded as a minor contributor.
Brian McHugh (40), with an address at Cairn Court, Poppintree, Ballymun in Dublin 11 has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to murdering Thompson (52) at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun in Dublin 11 on May 9th, 2022.
Giving evidence on Thursday, neighbour and friend Sandra McMahon told Ms Murphy that Thompson was dealing prescription drugs from her house – namely Zimovane sleeping tablets – and would sell a tray for €15.
She said the deceased had only a few customers and didn’t trust people, that Thompson was private and kept the tablets in a bag, which hung off the side of her bed.
Ms McMahon said Thompson had cleared the tablets out of her house for fear gardaí would raid it. The witness said she knew about Thompson’s friend Brian, whom she described as friendly. She said she had met him once at another neighbour’s house and was aware he and Thompson had what she described as a “one-night thing”.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC, Ms McMahon said Thompson would supply Benzos [Benzodiazepines] and Zimovane to people. The witness said she had told a garda that Thompson had a large amount of tablets in her attic.
She also confirmed she had told gardaí that Thompson gave a neighbour €20,000 to hold on to in case her house was raided by gardaí.
Ms McMahon also agreed she had told gardaí in her statement that Thompson’s “drug dealing business” was generally done on the phone and that customers would call to her house.
Chief State Pathologist Linda Mulligan, who conducted a postmortem on Thompson on May 11th, 2022, told the prosecutor she was informed by gardaí that the deceased was separated, had two children and was unemployed.
She said gardaí also told her that Thompson’s friend had entered Sandyhill Gardens on May 10th as the back door was unlocked and found her lying on the floor in the livingroom. Dr Mulligan said a window blind cord was wrapped around the deceased’s neck and there were multiple stab wounds to the left of the chest in the area above where the heart is located.
Thompson was wearing a pair of black shorts and a vest top, which had 10 slits over the left side of the chest. Blood was oozing from her nose and mouth.
The expert witness said there was significant blood-staining over the left side of the chest and the back of the vest. There were 11 stab wounds to the left side on the front of the chest. She said there were six penetrating wounds to the heart and two went through her body.
Dr Mulligan said there was no evidence of trauma or injury to the vagina. The postmortem bloods showed evidence of antidepressants, an antipsychotic drug, Benzodiazepine and a sleeping tablet.
She said a combination of the multiple sedative drugs may have affected Thompson’s reaction, but she may also have had some tolerance for them.
Dr Mulligan said it was difficult to tell whether the ligature strangulation or the multiple stab wounds to the chest had occurred first. There were bruises on the scalp which were most likely sustained from a struggle or assault.
In conclusion, the pathologist said Thompson’s death occurred because of a combination of ligature strangulation causing asphyxia and multiple stab wounds to the left side of the chest.
Under cross-examination, Dr Mulligan said people can survive attempted strangulations but survival was not possible with stab injuries of this kind. Asked whether it was possible to tell whether both injuries were inflicted by the same person, the witness replied that she could not tell from the examination.
Det Garda Janette O’Neill said she went to Sandyhill Gardens on May 10th and gained access through the rear of the property, where the gate and back door were unlocked. She found a small gold ring with stones in it at the rear gate.
She said the main bedroom was “ransacked” and most of the contents from the wardrobe were on the floor. There was no sign of Thompson’s handbag or keys, she added.
Under cross-examination, the detective agreed with Mr Grehan that there was no sign of a break-in and someone had been admitted voluntarily into the house.
The trial continues before Ms Justice Karen O’Connor and a jury.
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