A jury is expected to decide the fate of accused murderer Anthony Colin Finnegan today.
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The Prospect man has pleaded not guilty to killing 56-year-old Peter Fitzgerald, who was found dead at his Summerhill unit in December 2016.
The 56-year-old was allegedly stomped to death after a night of drinking with Mr Finnegan.
The trial before Justice Michael Brett entered its third week on Monday, with more than 30 witnesses taking the stand.
Throughout the trial the defence has argued Mr Finnegan did not murder his friend and was instead trying to break up a fight between him and another man who had been drinking with them on the night of the alleged crime.
The jury heard Mr Finnegan, Mr Fitzgerald and Cameron Tattersall were drinking at the Kerry Court unit before a fight broke out.
Mr Finnegan claimed he was hit by Mr Fitzgerald, and Mr Tattersall claimed the accused then began stomping on the victim’s head and kicking him.
Mr Fitzgerald drowned in his own blood.
Forensic evidence included a bloodied shoe, which Mr Finnegan was wearing on the night of the alleged murder.
While the accused said the victim was still alive when he left the unit, Mr Tattersall and another witness, Sean Watkins, told the jury they had gone back to the unit and found Mr Fitzgerald with “no pulse”.
The involvement of Mr Watkins was questioned by the defence, and it was revealed to the jury that he had left the crime scene, washed the blood off his hands and tried to hide his clothing – telling Mr Tattersall not to tell police he was there that night.
But when Mr Watkins took the stand, he blamed being in shock for his actions.
Both Mr Watkins and Mr Tattersall pointed the finger at Mr Finnegan, who argued the pair were the last ones at unit and suggested they could have killed the victim.
The prosecution did not argue Mr Finnegan’s intention, but urged the jury to still find him guilty of murder.
Crown Prosecutor Jackie Hartnett said in her opening statement that a lack of intention did not mean he was not guilty.
“He must have known there was a real chance of killing him,” she said.
Justice Brett began summing up the case on Tuesday morning, with the jury expected to begin its deliberations after lunch.
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