A Prospect man has recalled the night his best mate was allegedly murdered in front of him by another one of their friends.
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Cameron Tattersall told a Launceston Supreme Court jury on Thursday that accused killer Anthony Colin Finnegan “just snapped” before allegedly kicking and stomping their friend Peter “Fitzy” Fitzgerald in the head during a drunken dispute.
Mr Finnegan has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Taking the stand, Mr Tattersall said he and the two men had been drinking together and having a good time at the alleged victim’s unit at Summerhill just hours before Mr Fitzgerald died.
An argument between Mr Finnegan and Mr Fitzgerald ended in violence, the jury heard.
“I got off the couch … told them to stop arguing,” Mr Tattersall recalled.
That was when Mr Tattersall said the alleged victim hit the accused in the jaw “at least twice”.
“Anthony just snapped,” he said.
“He hit Fitzy a couple of times … then he hit him in the chest … he hit him in the chest again, Fitzy fell to the ground.”
While Mr Fitzgerald lay on his laundry floor, Mr Finnegan kicked and stomped his head, the jury was told.
“It happened pretty quick,” Mr Tattersall said.
“About three kicks, four stomps in the head.”
Crown Prosecutor Jackie Hartnett questioned Mr Tattersall as to why he didn’t try to physically stop the accused.
“I thought he was going to have a go at me,” he said.
“He just went crazy.
“I couldn’t believe Anthony had done that to Fitzy.”
Mr Tattersall left the unit with Mr Finnegan, leaving Mr Fitzgerald on the laundry floor, but still breathing, the court heard.
“I was trying to get Anthony away from Fitzy so I could ring triple zero,” Mr Tattersall said.
A short time later, Mr Tattersall said the accused called another friend, Sean Watkins.
“Sean turned up and I said ‘I gotta go get Fitzy’,” Mr Tattersall told the jury.
Mr Tattersall and Mr Watkins went back to the Summerhill unit where they found the alleged victim still on the laundry floor and no longer breathing.
After calling triple zero, Mr Tattersall began CPR.
“When I was doing mouth to mouth, I went and threw up in the toilet and came back and kept doing it,” he said.
Mr Tattersall will be cross-examined by defence lawyer Greg Richardson this afternoon.
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Melissa Mobbs
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
