Man who beat friend to death found guilty of murder
A 35-year-old man who attacked and beat his friend to death after he had insulted his mother with lewd sexual requests has been found guilty of murder.
Tomas Cypas had denied the murder of 49-year-old Juris Kokenbergs during a drunken row at Old Bridge Park in Lucan in October 2024.
He was convicted by a majority verdict and will be sentenced in two weeks' time.
Mr Kokenbergs sustained fatal injuries after he was attacked by Cypas and severely beaten on 26 October 2024.
The 49-year-old was left lying on a couch, covered with a blanket for more than a day, and was dead by the time emergency services arrived.
Juris Kokenbergs was severely beaten on 26 October 2024
Cypas admitted to gardaí that he had repeatedly punched his friend after he had made offensive sexual comments to his mother.
The 35-year-old said he had not planned to kill his friend and claimed he had acted in self-defence after Kokenbergs had come at him first.
However, the prosecution said Cypas was under no threat from his friend who was so drunk he could hardly sit up or walk and that he had meted out a volley of violence on a defenceless man.
Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan told the jury his client had lost it, delivered a flurry of punches and it was not a case of murder.
Cypas, he said, cared for his friend and had hoped he would wake up after the fight and they would laugh about it at their next drinking session.
After deliberating for six hours and 54 minutes over a three-day period, the jury found Cypas guilty of murder by a ten to two majority verdict.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott thanked them for their service and remanded Cypas in custody for victim impact statements and sentencing on 23 March.
He faces the mandatory term of life in prison.
