A MAN HAS been found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of a man who a court heard died after suffering a beating during an all-day drinking session, at a house in Co Kerry, five years ago.
The victim, 7ft 5in Dmitry Hrynkevich, 24, originally from Russia, died two days after being found unconscious and seriously injured at sheltered housing, at Killeen Woods, Tralee.
He had suffered blunt force trauma to the head, along with multiple injuries to his face and neck.
Arnoldas Ivanauskas, 33, a Lithuanian native with an address at The Parklands, Tralee, had denied Hrynkevich’s murder.
The trial lasted for just over three weeks at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Limerick.
Hrynkevich was pronounced dead at Kerry General Hospital, on 2 October 2015, forty-eight hours after the alleged attack.
The accused told gardaí, following his arrest, that he and the deceased were drinking spirits and beer in Tralee town centre on the day, and they continued drinking at Hrynkevich’s house later on that evening.
Ivanauskas told gardaí that Hrynkevich, who he had met for the first time that day, slapped him three times across the face and that he slapped him back.
He alleged that, a Polish man, who was not before the court, attacked the deceased and that he “joined in”.
Ivanauskas told gardaí he punched the victim at least once in the side of the head, but he “could not recall” how many times he had struck him.
He alleged the Polish man had “stamped” on the victim’s head and dragged him by the legs from the kitchen in the house to the front entrance door of the property.
The deceased’s blood was found on clothes worn by the accused when he was arrested later on the night.
Ivanauskas told gardaí he had borrowed the clothing from the Polish man.
Hrynkevich was born with a serious genetic condition called Marfan Syndrome, which required life-saving surgery, it was heard.
In his late teens, and later in his early 20s, he underwent major surgery to correct a serious heart defect linked to his condition.
Following the surgeries he was still considered to have been at an increased risk of sudden collapse.
Hrynkevich died by loss of oxygen to the brain, due to a heart attack linked to Marfan syndrome, a post mortem concluded.
The autopsy, carried out by retired State Pathologist, Professor Marie Cassidy, also found that “blunt force trauma” to the deceased’s head had contributed to his death.
Hrynkevich had “elongated limbs” associated with Marfan syndrome, the trial was told.
It was the state’s case that the accused along with the Polish man had “acted together in a joint enterprise” and murdered the deceased.
The jury of seven men and five women reached a unanimous verdict today after just over four and a half hours deliberations.
The accused was remanded in continuing custody to Cork Prison for sentencing before Mr Justice Michael McGrath at the Criminal Courts of Justice, Dublin, on 8 October.
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