MAN DENIES 'DRUG STASH' MURDER IN CLONMEL LANE

A Clonmel man murdered another man after he was startled while attending to
his drugs stash, a jury in the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.

Mr Paul Fitzgerald (29), of Garrymore, Clonmel, Co Tipperary has denied
murdering Mr Frank Daniels (41) of Oliver Plunkett Terrace, at Clonmel, Co
Tipperary, on October 26th, 1997.

Mr Michael Durack SC said Mr Daniels was murdered after coming across the
accused as he was attending to the cannabis stash in an alleyway. Mr Durack
said Mr Daniels had been walking around the housing estate where he lived in
the early hours of the morning, allegedly because he had been locked out of
his home.

Mr Daniels, who was illiterate, short-sighted and who previously held a
position in rehabilitation, which he had given up some time before his
death, was seen chatting to three men at the end of the alley shortly before
his body was found.

The State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, said Mr Daniels was found in pools
of blood, with 18 wounds on the head inflicted by a blunt instrument.

Dr Harbison said Mr Daniels had suffered a "hinge fracture", which was an
"indication of severe force applied to the head."

The cause of death was multiple head injuries. "The head injuries were
severe enough to be fatal without any other contributory cause," he said.

The weapon used would have been straight and "heavy enough to crush the
vault of the skull". A local resident, Mr Tony Molloy, said that after
waking early he went out for a walk, and discovered Mr Daniels's body.

The trial, before Mr Justice Smith and a jury of eight men and four women,
continues today.