A man's been found guilty of the manslaughter of another man, whose body was found inside a wardrobe in his apartment in August 2022.
Dean Caffrey, of Beaucourt, Achill Road, Drumcondra, claimed he acted in self-defence when 28-year-old Sean McCarthy came at him in a dispute over missing drugs.
He told Gardai that Mr McCarthy was armed and that his gun "just went off" during the struggle that followed.
The court heard that Caffrey was a cocaine and cannabis user who had amassed drug debts that McCarthy took on. In part payment for his debt, Caffrey allowed McCarthy to use his apartment in Drumcondra to store drugs.
However, McCarthy had been the subject of threats and at least one assault in the period leading up to August 2022 due to his own drug debts.
Caffrey told gardaí during interviews that on the day McCarthy died, the deceased came to his apartment in an agitated state and accused him of stealing heroin, demanded €5,000 and threatened him that he would "leave in a body bag".
Caffrey said he lunged for the weapon when McCarthy was momentarily distracted by a noise and in a struggle, the gun went off, causing the fatal injury to McCarthy.
A pathologist's report confirmed that he died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
With McCarthy dead, Caffrey took money from the dead man's pocket to buy cocaine before a suitcase in Dunnes Stores.
He went home, and attempted to put McCarthy into the suitcase. Having failed to do that Caffrey then placed the body, partially inside the suitcase, into a wardrobe.
In the following days, he went to work and visited his ex-girlfriend's house. After a few days, members of McCarthy's family became suspicious of Caffrey and called to his family home looking for him.
Four days after the killing, Caffrey went to Ashbourne Garda Station and told gardaí where they would find the body.
