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Corstorphine Hill murder trial: Accused 'did something bad' | Corstorphine Hill murder trial: Accused 'did something bad' |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A man accused of killing his mother and burying her in a shallow grave told a workmate he had done "something bad", a court has heard. | A man accused of killing his mother and burying her in a shallow grave told a workmate he had done "something bad", a court has heard. |
Matthew Hagan, 26, told the High Court in Edinburgh about the conversation with James Dunleavy. | Matthew Hagan, 26, told the High Court in Edinburgh about the conversation with James Dunleavy. |
The two men had been working together as labourers on the Edinburgh tram project. | The two men had been working together as labourers on the Edinburgh tram project. |
Mr Dunleavy, who is 40, denies killing his mother Philomena and burying her dismembered body on Corstorphine Hill. | Mr Dunleavy, who is 40, denies killing his mother Philomena and burying her dismembered body on Corstorphine Hill. |
Mr Hagan told the court he and Mr Dunleavy were paired together operating jackhammers to smash through concrete. | Mr Hagan told the court he and Mr Dunleavy were paired together operating jackhammers to smash through concrete. |
Going away | Going away |
He said Mr Dunleavy, who is also known as Seamus, told him he was going away but would not say why. | He said Mr Dunleavy, who is also known as Seamus, told him he was going away but would not say why. |
"He said he had done something he wasn't proud of," he added. | "He said he had done something he wasn't proud of," he added. |
"He said he had done something bad, something he was ashamed of but he wouldn't reveal to me what it was." | "He said he had done something bad, something he was ashamed of but he wouldn't reveal to me what it was." |
Mr Hagan, from Glasgow, gave details of the conversation to detectives after Dunleavy's arrest. | Mr Hagan, from Glasgow, gave details of the conversation to detectives after Dunleavy's arrest. |
He told them Dunleavy's words were "I have done something bad, brother." | He told them Dunleavy's words were "I have done something bad, brother." |
He added: "I asked him where he was going and he said 'I don't know. It could be years, weeks, months.'" | He added: "I asked him where he was going and he said 'I don't know. It could be years, weeks, months.'" |
Mr Hagan agreed with defence QC that Dunleavy was someone who would "talk a lot of nonsense" and for him to say things which did not make sense was not unusual. | Mr Hagan agreed with defence QC that Dunleavy was someone who would "talk a lot of nonsense" and for him to say things which did not make sense was not unusual. |
Doctors | |
The court later heard that Mr Dunleavy posed a problem for doctors. | |
Psychiatrists Dr John Crichton and Dr Khuram Khan have been dealing with him since his arrest last July. | |
They agreed Mr Dunleavy had a serious problem but they could not agree what it was. | |
Both said their task was complicated by the accused man's refusal to discuss what he is alleged to have done. | |
Dr Khan, currently looking after Mr Dunleavy in the State Hospital, Carstairs, said he could be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia - but his assessment was not yet complete. | |
Dr Crichton said his diagnosis was paranoid personality disorder. | |
'Delusions and obsessions' | |
Dr Crichton's opinion was that although Mr Dunleavy had odd beliefs he was someone who could still be reasoned with. | |
He was not someone completely in the grip of his delusions and obsessions. | |
"I did not think him incapable of making decisions," the psychiatrist told the trial. | |
He said Mr Dunleavy might interpret "benign events" as something directed towards him and he was someone who could bear a grudge. | |
Dr Khan said there were issues he was still trying to tease out. | |
"It is a complicated case," he told the trial. | |
Evidence | Evidence |
Mr Dunleavy denies battering to death his mother Philomena, 66, of Marino, Dublin between 30 April and 7 May 2013. | Mr Dunleavy denies battering to death his mother Philomena, 66, of Marino, Dublin between 30 April and 7 May 2013. |
He also denies attempting to defeat the ends of justice by trying to cover up the alleged murder and destroy evidence. | He also denies attempting to defeat the ends of justice by trying to cover up the alleged murder and destroy evidence. |
At the time, Mr Dunleavy was living in a flat Edinburgh's Balgreen Road. | At the time, Mr Dunleavy was living in a flat Edinburgh's Balgreen Road. |
The murder charge alleges that it was there that he inflicted "blunt force trauma" by means unknown, compressed his mother's throat and cut off her head and legs with a blade and something like a saw. | The murder charge alleges that it was there that he inflicted "blunt force trauma" by means unknown, compressed his mother's throat and cut off her head and legs with a blade and something like a saw. |
A second charge accuses him of pretending his mother was unwell and had returned to Ireland. | A second charge accuses him of pretending his mother was unwell and had returned to Ireland. |
The charge further alleges that Mr Dunleavy put his mother's torso, severed legs and head into a suitcase and took the dismembered body to Corstorphine Hill where he buried her. | The charge further alleges that Mr Dunleavy put his mother's torso, severed legs and head into a suitcase and took the dismembered body to Corstorphine Hill where he buried her. |
Prosecutors also claim that he vacuumed and washed his flat to remove blood stains and torched a bed and mattress. | Prosecutors also claim that he vacuumed and washed his flat to remove blood stains and torched a bed and mattress. |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |