'Almost indescribable savagery': Barrister describes 'serious sexual violence' inflicted on deceased
Eoin Reynolds
A man died in circumstances of "almost indescribable savagery" involving "serious sexual violence", having had one eye removed from its socket and a knife inserted in his anus, a barrister has told a jury at the Central Criminal Court.
Dean Kelly on Tuesday opened the trial of Liam O'Leary (33), who denies the murder of 58-year-old John Casserly at a Peter McVerry Trust housing unit on Tone St, Ballina, Co Mayo, between October 23rd and 24th, 2024.
Kelly told the jury of nine men and three women that the deceased was born in Wigan in northern England in 1965 to parents from Mayo. They moved to Knock in Mayo in 1983.
When Casserly grew up, he moved to the US for about 15 years but returned to Mayo and settled in Ballina in 2014 until the time of his death.
He lived at Tone House, an apartment building operated by the Peter McVerry charity. He did not know the accused until a few weeks before his death, Kelly said.
They struck up a friendship and when O'Leary needed a place to stay, Casserly took him into his one-bed apartment. The day leading up to Casserly's death was "unextraordinary", Kelly said, but that evening neighbours heard arguing from their apartment.
At about 11.45pm, O'Leary knocked on a neighbour's door, followed a short time later by Casserly. Matters became "fraught", Kelly said, and the neighbour fled out onto the street.
Kelly said that what happened next is that Casserly "met his death in circumstances of almost indescribable savagery". When gardaí breached the door of the apartment at about 12.50am, they found Casserly lying naked on the ground, face up, with O'Leary standing over him, clothed.
Casserly had been stabbed 27 times, including on both sides of the chest, in the abdomen, neck, left eye, genitals, and anus. He had suffered multiple blunt force and incised wounds to his trunk, arms and legs, Kelly said.
His left eye had been removed from the skull by a combination of blunt and sharp force and all the bones on the left side of his face were fractured.
State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers removed a blade that had been inserted through Casserly's mouth, into the bony part of the palate and the base of the skull.
The pathologist also removed a bent and damaged butter knife from Casserly's anus.
Kelly said Dr Okkers will say that Casserly died from multiple sharp force injuries along with blunt force trauma.
Counsel called on the jury to set prejudice, outrage and sympathy aside. He said it would be normal and natural, considering the evidence of "serious sexual violence", to have the "most profound sympathy for John Casserly and his family."
It would also, he said, be normal to have sympathy for O'Leary, sitting in "as lonely a seat as you could imagine". However, he said their job will be to consider the evidence coldly and dispassionately without prejudice or sympathy.
Katrina Hennegan told Kelly that the deceased was a "great friend", whom she would visit five days a week. On the afternoon preceding his death, she visited Casserly's home where she met Gabriel Jaworska and O'Leary.
This was her first time meeting O'Leary, who she said was "talking a mile a minute". She heard him say that the council "better get me a set of keys for a house because my mother has f**ked me over for years." She also heard him say that he would kill himself.
He insulted Jaworska, a Polish national, by saying "the Polish are no good", and although Jaworska twice told him to "shut up", he kept talking. The witness said he seemed to be "ranting and raving and very angry".
Hennegan also recalled Casserly and Jaworska smoking a marijuana cigarette, but she couldn't remember if O'Leary had smoked.
Under cross examination, Hennegan told defence counsel Michael Bowman that she got to know Casserly through a club for people with mental issues. He was incredibly kind, she said, had a wonderful sense of humour and went out of his way for his friends.
Jaworska told Kelly she was also good friends with Casserly and they would go swimming together once a week. The same day, she and Casserly had gone swimming and returned to his home.
She said they would normally play chess but couldn't because O'Leary was "always talking" even though nobody was listening.
Jaworska agreed with Bowman that she knew O'Leary had a mental illness but she didn't know the nature of his diagnosis. She agreed that she could see he was unwell from the way he behaved that day. She further agreed that she had shared a cannabis joint with Casserly.
The trial continues before the jury and Justice Melanie Greally.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
