A man accused of the murder of a Detective Garda in Roscommon over two years ago complained of his treatment in custody following his arrest.
Stephen Silver from Foxford in Mayo denies the capital murder over of Colm Horkan but has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the Garda by reason of diminished responsibility.
Daniel Considine reports:
Day ten of the trial began this morning with the jury watching video recordings of Stephen Silver's first Garda interview. In an interview, conducted on Thursday afternoon of the 18th of June 2020, Detective Paddy Farrell and Detective Sergeant Brian Hanly read back their account of Mr Silver's statement taken in the course of the interview. During the process, the accused complained of being sleep deprived and having not slept over the last 30 hours and complained over the conditions of his detention, saying, 'It's abuse, It's horrible'. According to Stephen Silver, the lights in the cell were too bright and stopping him from sleeping and it was also so cold that he was forced to exercise and train to keep warm. He accused the Garda member in charge of being 'useless' and he was forced to kick the door to get attention.
As interviewing Gardaí continued to read his statement back to him, Silver claimed that during the shooting, before he threw the pistol away, he noticed that it was not in good condition, clarifying that the weapon had not been properly maintained. The video then showed the accused explaining to Gardaí that he loved guns and despite never firing one, was very familiar with how they worked. During the course of the clarification with interviewing Gardaí, the motorbike mechanic stated that Detective Horkan was on the ground after being hit, following the first shots. When asked what he had hit the Garda with, the defendant responded I don't know, the back of the gun I think.' He went on to describe feeling the clasp of Detective Horkan's holster open before both himself and Colm Horkan began 'wrestling over the gun' stating it 'was all over the shop.' Stephen Silver then stated that he was finished talking and the he wanted a toilet break and food, which concluded the first Garda interview.
Evidence of subsequent Garda interviews will be shown to the jury later this afternoon.
