Courts / Offaly / Report

Murder accused "acted in concert" to carry out "savage" killing, prosecution tells jury

Summary

In a Central Criminal Court hearing, Patrick Treacy SC argued that Matthew Cummins (22), Sean Davy (21) and James Davy (25) acted together to murder 64‑year‑old Thomas 'Toddy' Dooley. The prosecution said the men entered Dooley's house at about 5.30 am after being expelled from a house party, beat him to death with a baseball bat, attempted to set his body on fire and then disposed of the bat and other items in a bin. Treacy described the evidence as showing a joint enterprise, with each accused equally guilty. He highlighted conflicting statements from the men, including Cummins' claims of lying about his whereabouts and Davy's admissions of striking Dooley. The trial was set to continue the following day before Justice Margaret Heneghan. Matthew Cummins pleaded not guilty. Sean Davy pleaded not guilty. James Davy pleaded not guilty.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Murder accused "acted in concert" to carry out "savage" killing, prosecution tells jury. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• February 12, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
• February 17 Incident
• February 26 Incident
• 2016-07-28 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report