Son accused of murdering father had ‘love/ hate’ relationship with him – court

A man who is accused of murdering his father during a row over a burnt breakfast had a “love/hate” relationship with his dad, the deceased’s sister has told the Central Criminal Court.

Another witness told the trial that the accused man, Mark Tims, was “lovely fella”. Mr Tims (48) has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to the murder of his father Anthony “Tony” Tims at the home they shared at Rowlagh Green, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 on July 13th, 2018.

The trial has previously heard that a row erupted when Anthony Tims returned home from the pub on his 74th birthday and the accused told him he had “cremated” his breakfast that morning. A witness has told the trial that Anthony Tims then told his son he was a “disappointment” and he wished he’d never been born before the accused man, who was “in a rage”, put his father in a headlock, punched him twice in the head and kicked him when he fell to the ground.

Sandra O’Donnell, the deceased’s younger sister, on Wednesday told prosecution counsel Michael Delaney SC that the accused lived with his father for most of his life. Anthony, she said, had run a successful panel-beating business but was retired at the time of his death. His wife Dolores died in 1996. Although Mark continued living with his father following his mother’s death, Ms O’Donnell said in the months leading up to Anthony’s death there were “quite a few verbal arguments between them.”

On the day of Anthony’s death Ms O’Donnell received a phone call from Mark’s partner Elizabeth “Lil” McDonagh and immediately went to Anthony’s home at Rowlagh Green. She saw him being taken out by an ambulance crew and, she said: “I knew he was dead when he came out.” Ms O’Donnell phoned Mark at about 3am that night and he told her he was hiding. When she asked why, he responded: “I gave my dad a couple of slaps and kind of lost it.”

Ms O’Donnell told him that he had killed his father and she wanted him to hand himself in. He didn’t seem emotional, she said, and he told her: “You don’t know what happened.” She responded: “I know but you still have to hand yourself in.”

The witness told defence counsel Vincent Heneghan SC that when Mark was a boy he used to go with his dad to a pub in Smithfield in Dublin to listen to Irish music. “They were close,” she said.

She agreed that as he got older and his health started to suffer Anthony became “narky” and “cranky” and that people would avoid him as a result. Asked to comment on the relationship between Mark and his dad she said: “I would say they had a love/hate relationship.” She further agreed that both men had a “stubborn streak”.

James Berney told Mr Delaney that on the evening of July 13 2018 he was having a few cans of cider on a wall near Rowlagh Green when he saw Mark Tims cycling by. They hadn’t seen one another for years and Mr Tims was, the witness said, “delighted to see me.”

The accused told Mr Berney that he had had a fight with his dad and a little time later he received a phone call saying his dad was dead. He began screaming: “No, no, no” and Mr Berney tried to console him. He said he was worried Mr Tims was going to jump out in front of a bus. The two men then went to a nearby off-licence and Mr Tims bought eight cans of cider, a bottle of vodka and a large bottle of coke. They drank the cans in a nearby park and “talked about old times.” The witness remembered Mr Tims saying repeatedly that he hoped his father was okay.

When they saw a garda car they moved into some bushes because they thought the gardaí were looking for Mr Tims. After a few drinks Mr Tims said he was going to hand himself in and Mr Berney went home. The witness told Mr Heneghan that Mr Tims told him his father had, “started on him and he lost control. He said his dad kept picking on him.” When asked if he thought Mark was in shock he said: “Of course he was. Mark is a lovely fella. He was definitely in shock.”

The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Tony Hunt and a jury of seven women and five men.