A Tipperary man had pled guilty to the manslaughter of his mother’s partner.
The murder is believed to have happened between September 24 and 25th 2017.
Andrew Nash, of Parnell Street in Thurles, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Jonathan (John) Ustic, the partner of his mother Suzanne Fenton.
The body os Ustic, aged 51 at the time of his death, was discovered on September 25th, 2017, at High Street in Skibbereen, Co Cork.
The trial began on Monday in Cork, where Nash was charged with the murder of Ustic.
The court heard that Nash, aged 43, allegedly fatally attacked Ustic on an unknown date between September 24th and 25th, 2017.
Nash then allegedly repeatedly brought a sofa down on top of Ustic as he lay defenseless on the floor.
After two days of evidence, the trial was interrupted when Nash was re-arraigned in the presence of the jury.
During the trial, it was revealed that alcohol intoxication was a contributing factor in Ustic’s death, and the postmortem examination indicated that the primary cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, chest, and neck.
The events leading up to the fatal incident unfolded on September 24th, 2017 when Nash received a phone call from his mother Suzanne, who was in a relationship with Ustic.
Nash and a couple he knew went to the house in Skibbereen where Ustic and Suzanne were living together.
After some socialising and drinking, the group returned to High Street at around 7:30 pm.
Nash allegedly pulled Ustic out of the car, causing him to violently hit his head on the ground in the car park.
Ustic was left prone on the ground while Nash and the couple went back to the house.
Nash and his male friend later emerged from the house and picked up Ustic, carrying him back to the house with “his feet dragging on the ground.”
Nash allegedly threw Ustic to the ground and proceeded to attack him, repeatedly striking him, slashing his ear, and stomping on his head.
He then allegedly used a sofa to deliver further blows to Ustic’s head and chest.
The next morning, Suzanne Fenton, now deceased, raised the alarm and Ustic was pronounced dead when Gardaí arrived on the scene.
Nash was later seen in West Cork, but he left before being arrested.
When apprehended, Nash admitted to “giving slaps” to Ustic but denied causing any injuries that would lead to his death.
While he denied murdering Ustic, he pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter, wo which the state accepted his guilty plea and Nash was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in Cork on this afternoon.
