Crossgar man allegedly told ex-girlfriend, ‘I killed somebody, I stabbed him’

Crossgar man allegedly told ex-girlfriend, ‘I killed somebody, I stabbed him’

16 February 2022

A CROSSGAR man accused of being involved in a fatal attack on another man allegedly told a former girlfriend that he killed him, a jury heard last week.

The murder trial into the death of Londonderry man Eddie Meenan heard from Ryan Walters’ ex partner that the defendant told her: “I killed somebody, I stabbed him.”

The 22 year-old from Station Park in the village is one of three men on trial for the death of Mr Meenan who was beaten and stabbed to death at the rear of a house in the Creggan Street area of the city in the early hours of November 25, 2018.

Walters, and co-accused Derek William Cresswell (29) of Kings Lane in Ballykelly, and 34-year-old Sean Ciaran Joseph Rodgers of no fixed abode, deny murdering the 52-year-old.

They also deny wounding William McConnell, a friend of Mr Meenan’s, who was with him at the time. 

Derry Crown Court heard last week from Walters’ former girlfriend, who was pregnant with his twins at the time of the murder, but was no longer in a relationship with him.

She told the court that they exchanged text messages on the evening of Saturday, November 24, and into the early hours of the next morning.

The woman said that during their conversation, Walters allegedly told her he had “killed somebody” and had “stabbed him”.

She said that he seemed nervous during the chat but the next morning when they spoke he told her “I didn’t do it but I know who did”.

The witness said that Walters told her that while he had “hit the fella a couple of punches”, he “didn’t stab him”.

The Crown case is that after arriving the back of the house, Mr Meenan and his friend were attacked by all three men. 

Mr Meenan was subjected to a ”brutal and savage attack” where he was stabbed more than 50 times, beaten with weapons and punched and kicked while Mr McConnell sustained a serious head wound but managed to escape.

The jury also heard evidence from a forensic scientist that Mr Meenan’s DNA was located on blood stains found on Walter’s Adidas trainers and on a black and green North Face tracksuit. 

Walters’ version of events is that he was present in the property when Mr Meenan and Mr McConnell arrived to the rear wearing home-made balaclavas.

He claimed that his co-accused Sean Rodgers had the initial confrontation with Mr Meenan where the defendant Derek Cresswell also joined in.

Walters’ defence barrister, John Kearney, said his client claims that when he walked back into the house, Mr Meenan had been stripped and was lying on his back and “that the clothing of Mr Meenan was removed before the stabbing started”, which had occurred when he was in the kitchen.

The forsenic expert witness agreed that anyone who kicked, punched and stabbed Mr Meenan and then dragged his body into a back alleyway would have been covered in blood. 

While she also agreed with the defence barrister that there were not large amounts of blood located on the clothes and shoes worn by Walters, she did point out that she believed there was an attempt made to clean one of the trainers before it was seized by police.

The trial continues.