A jury has heard how a man who had got behind on his debts to drug suppliers was abducted by two men and taken to a country laneway shed where he was subjected to the “most horrific” assault for more than an hour.
On the first day of the trial on Tuesday, the jury of 10 men and two women heard how pools of blood were discovered in the shed where the assault is alleged to have taken place and that a trail of blood ran the length of the laneway to the main road as the victim, 33-year-old Lithuanian Jaan Eemon, desperately sought help, finally collapsing in front of a local man who immediately alerted gardai.
At Galway Circuit Criminal Court, Aurelijus Zrielskis (36 ) formerly of Cois Chlair, Claregalway, and Gimtautas Bagdonas (31 ) formerly of Clan House, Dominick Street, both Lithuanian nationals, pleaded not guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to a man at Francis Cottage, Menlo, on May 25, 2010, and the false imprisonment of that man by detaining him against his will within the county of Galway on the same date.
At the opening of the trial, state barrister Conor Fahy told the jury that Mr Eemon had been “pushing drugs” on behalf of others in Galway for a period prior to May 25 last year and he got into difficulties settling debts with his suppliers. Mr Eemon had got into a friend’s black Audi A3 in Woodquay when two other persons jumped in, detained him, and ordered the friend to drive them all to a cottage in Menlo and told Mr Eemon to go into the shed. Mr Fahy said that in the shed the “most horrific assault” took place for more than a hour and it involved “disturbing actions” which were committed on Mr Eemon including the “insertion of a wooden implement up his rectum”. He added that Mr Eemon also received serious injuries to the upper arms and head and he required extensive surgical treatment in hospital.
While on duty at Galway Garda Station, Garda Brendan Dooher, received a call from a man at 12.32pm stating that a person had been “stabbed” and was lying on the ground at the entrance to Lackagh quarry. Garda Dooher said that the caller informed him that an ambulance had been called and that the injured man was bleeding heavily. Defence barrister for Zrielskis, Bernard Madden SC, then put it to Garda Dooher that “it was quite clear the allegation was of a person being stabbed”.
A mobile patrol unit was immediately informed and Garda Gerard Morrissey, responding to the call received at 12.45pm, went to the scene where he found a man sitting against a wall in “great distress and pain”. Gardai spoke to a local man who explained how he had seen Mr Eemon coming up the laneway and collapsing in front of him. Garda Niall Lennon gave evidence that a t-shirt had been tied tightly around a wound on Mr Eemon’s upper right arm and that his clothing was in “tatters”. He said that when Mr Eemon tried to speak he was “very incoherent and clearly in pain”.
Sgt Seamus Phillips, a member of the Crime Scenes Investigation team for Galway, arrived at the scene at 5.15pm accompanied by Garda Denis Sweeney. Sgt Phillips described how the incident had taken place at the end of a country lane where there was located a thatched cottage with two outhouses/sheds. He said blood “drops” were found extending the length of the lane to where the outhouses were and “blood-soaked clothing” were also found at the junction of the lane and Coolough Road. While the jury poured over a number of photographs taken at the scene Sgt Phillips described how an outhouse contained a number of items which were blood stained. He explained how dark staining, which “appeared to be blood”, was found near an oil container, blood was on a clear sheet of plastic covering, and blood spots were also found on a yellow/green flex cord and duct tape, and that this would have been used to “tie something or somebody” with. Sgt Phillips added that when a plastic covering was removed it revealed “extensive blood pooling on the ground”.
Defence counsel for Bagdonas, John Kiely BL, put it to Sgt Phillips that the front door of the cottage, which was occupied, faces the front door of the shed/outhouses and that if there were any movements, noise, calls for help, it would have been “clearly heard”.
Garda Denis Sweeney then gave evidence that he collected the clothing that was found at top of the lane and that there was a “blood trail” - blood splatter every two to three yards - leading down the lane to the door of the shed. Blood was discovered at the shed door step and an “old fashioned hand pump with the nozzle broken off” was resting up against the double doors. Garda Sweeney said that in the yard, between the cottage and the shed, was located a half-barrel, used to burn items in, and found inside was a semi-charred blood-stained white cloth with duct tape around it. Inside the shed was a large green oil drum with a “large pool of blood” at its base. The gardai also discovered a black handled scissors left on top of the oil drum, a blood-stained hammer, as well as a small black nylon bag which contained “heroin works” such as a filter and two syringes. Garda Sweeney added that an examination was later carried out on the hand pump and a finger mark was found on the body and sent to Dublin for further examination.
Under cross examination by Mr Kiely, Garda Sweeney said that the swabs taken from the blood found at the scene were sent to the forensics lab in Dublin and were “DNA profiled” to the injured party. Mr Kiely put it to the witness that the only fingerprints found were those on the pump and that “no other prints were taken”. He added that there was no evidence forensically linking Bagdonas to the location.
The trial continues.
