Garda interviews with a man accused of the murder of a Detective in Roscommon two years ago have continued before the jury this morning at the Central Criminal Court.
Stephen Silver is charged with the capital murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkin in Castlerea on June 17th, 2020.
He's pleaded not guilty to that charge but guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
The recordings resumed in front of the jury of 7 men and 5 women, with the accused being read witness accounts of the incident. Stephen Silver began by stating he'd not be answering any questions. Excerpts from the statement of James Coyne, a friend of Silver and witness to the incident, described Stephen Silver as 'pissed off' on behalf of Mr Coyne and his reported past treatment by Gardai.
James Coyne, also known as the Bull, had told gardai that Colm Horkan pulled up to them on the night of June 17th with his passenger seat car window down, resulting in Mr Silver and the detective exchanging words through the window. The Charlestown native is said to have then left the car and on stepping onto the path, said 'How are you James?' This led the accused to brand that claim as 'totally wrong and complete lies.'
Excerpts from Mr Coyne's interview regarding his description of the moment the fight began were also described as 'lies, absolute bullshit and lies' by the defendant. The 'Bull' Coyne stated in his voluntary memo, that Colm Horkan was 'in no way out of order and no way disrespectful' though he did 'roughly grab' Stephen following his statement that he was arresting him for assault.
Another witness report from a local property owner claimed on hearing a loud bang and a strike on his metal gate, the man left his bed and looked out the window. In the recording made on the 19th of June, Stephen Silver was read the witness account which described two men wrestling on the street before hearing two bangs.
After that, the witness told Gardai that a man with long hair rolled away, got to a knee and 'bang bang, bang'. Stephen Silver did not reply to this account, but moments later echoed his solicitor's statement on not answering, saying they're 'digging their holes, digging deeper.' Detective Sergeant Brian Hanly and Detective Paddy Farrell began to read the notes back to the accused, wrapping up the interview with Silver repeatedly banging the window sill and calling for the interview to be over.
