Murder accused stabbed himself in leg and smeared blood on his face ‘like in Braveheart’ says witness
Waterford Courthouse.
The trial of a man accused of murder continues at Waterford Central Criminal Court.
Wayne Roche, of Dominic’s Place, Waterford City, is accused of murdering John ‘King’ O’Connor on a date between December 30-31, 2024, at 17 Cluain Fada, Morrissyland, New Ross, Co. Wexford. He is pleading not guilty.
John O’Connor (59) was discovered at his home on the morning of December 31 by his daughter Chloe. He was found lying on his back in a pool of blood.
On Tuesday, April 28, the jury of eight women and four men heard evidence from a number of witnesses. The court heard from the daughter of the deceased and his friend Michael Bancewicz. Judge Patrick McGrath is presiding over the trial. Roche is represented by John Byrne SC. Dean Kelly SC is acting on behalf of the State.
Daughter of the deceased Chloe O’Connor gave her testimony in relation to the dates of December 30 to 31, 2024. The court heard that she had travelled into Waterford on Monday, December 30, with Wayne Roche, her partner at the time. She said that they went to pick up their social welfare allowance and "went around a few shops". At some point, she said that they bought heroin and later took a taxi together to buy 60 tablets of benzodiazepines.
When asked by Mr Byrne how he consumed the heroin, she replied: “Injected or smoked it.”
Ms O’Connor travelled with Roche back to New Ross. CCTV footage showed them buying alcohol from Corcoran’s Off Licence on their way to visit her father. She paid for a bottle of Jameson Whiskey and a bottle of Fireball tequila.
She said the plan was to have a few drinks with her father and to share the news that she was pregnant and expecting a child with Roche.
Ms O’Connor left the flat with Roche and parted ways at Corcoran’s. They had arranged for Roche to stay at her father’s home while she stayed at her mother’s. She told the court that her father got on well with Roche and they wanted to celebrate the news of her pregnancy.
The next morning, she arrived at her father’s home to find the door unlocked. She found her father ‘cold’ on the ground in a pool of blood.
Michael Bancewicz had been staying at Mr O’Connor’s flat at the time but left on the night of December 30.
He told the court that he was having a few drinks with Mr O’Connor and Roche when the latter began acting ‘aggressively’. According to the witness, Roche took his shirt off, showing off scars on his arms and bragging about ‘prison’.
Roche was described as going into the kitchen, returning with a knife and stabbing himself in the leg. Concerned, Mr Bancewicz took his phone out to shine a light on the flow of blood coming from Roche’s leg. He said: “[Roche] takes the blood, like in Braveheart, and spread it on his face. I took the flashlight on my phone to show him that he was bleeding.
“He thought that I was recording him. I said, ‘Hey man, you’re really bleeding!’ He started hitting me in the face, punching me in the face and tried taking the phone from my hand.”
Mr Bancewicz went on: “I thought it was going very wrong, it was escalating and I could not protect myself with my medical conditions." (Mr Bancewicz has suffered significant respiratory injuries due to a house fire in Wexford). The witness left and went to a friend’s house nearby. The friend, John Delaney, confirmed that Mr Bancewicz did visit his home that night and told him about the encounter. In their messages, there was a reference to ‘herb’.
Defence counsel John Byrne SC asked Mr Delaney if he smokes cannabis, to which he replied, “Oh definitely,” before going on to explain his back issues. Judge McGrath interjected: “You don’t have to explain.”
Mr Delaney said that Bancewicz left 17 Cluain Fada because “the atmosphere went haywire”. The trial continues.
