Gary Watson on trial for murder over Dublin stabbing

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Gary Watson is on trial at the Central Criminal Court accused of murdering Warren O’Connor at Hole in the Wall Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13, on 16 January 2010. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and denies assaulting Philip Woodcock causing him harm on the same occasion and producing a knife to intimidate another person during a dispute.

The proceedings were reported on 1 February 2019. The trial was continuing that day before Mr Justice Michael White and a jury.

Giving evidence on 31 January, Suzanne Martin said a Honda Civic rammed the Ford Focus carrying her, Mr Woodcock and others three times before both cars stopped. She said Mr Woodcock and Richard Grant then hit the Honda driver, while two other men in their group fought with occupants of the Honda. She saw Mr O’Connor bleeding on the roadside and said she had not seen him fighting.

Under defence cross-examination on 30 January, Mr Woodcock accepted he had lied to gardaí when he said a small potato peeler knife given to Jonathan Gunnery had been left in the Ford. The following day he said it was an untrue statement rather than a lie: he had not remembered at the time and told gardaí when he did remember.