A 70-year-old man told gardaí he was acting in self-defence when he strangled his partner to death, the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Conor Devally SC opened the trial of Desmond Duffy on Tuesday by telling the jury that the accused and the deceased, Desmond Sullivan (59), were essentially a married couple who shared a home at Somerville Park in Rathmines, Dublin. Mr Duffy has pleaded not guilty to Mr Sullivan's murder.
Mr Devally explained that as they share a first name, the deceased was known to friends as ‘Little Des’, the accused as ‘Big Des’. They were in a civil partnership and were due to be married in July 2017.
They were drinking partners, Mr Devally said, and partners in life. He explained that the pair had been out doing “a fair amount of drinking” together on May 23rd, 2016, and got into a row when they arrived home, which ended with Mr Sullivan lying at the threshold of the kitchen and downstairs bathroom.
Mr Duffy then called his partner’s nephew, Garda Maurice Ward, who found the body and called gardaí and emergency services.
Fended off
When he spoke to gardaí, Mr Devally said the accused suggested he was acting in self-defence, telling them he was not the aggressor and that he fended off an attack by squeezing Mr Sullivan, strangling his airways and causing his death.
Garda Ward told the court he received a call from the accused at about 10.15pm asking him to call over.
He asked, “is everything ok?”
Mr Duffy responded: “No, it’s not ok.”
Garda Ward arrived at the house at about 30 minuts later and found Mr Duffy looking “shook” and apologising for bringing him there.
He said he could tell from Mr Duffy’s demeanour that something serious had happened. He asked if Mr Sullivan was dead, to which Mr Duffy replied: “Yes, I think so.”
Under cross examination, Garda Ward agreed with Caroline Biggs SC, for Mr Duffy, that he had known the accused and deceased since 1996 and that Mr Duffy always seemed to be a gentle person.
He said he met them three or four times a year and never saw Mr Duffy being physically or verbally aggressive.
Both men were intelligent, he said, and great company.
“They were a pleasure to be around. You wouldn’t be short of conversation with them.”
The trial continues.