A Prospect man accused of stomping his friend to death after a night of drinking together has told a jury he was trying to break up a fight.
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Anthony Colin Finnegan, 36, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Peter John Fitzgerald, 56, on December 1, 2016.
On Friday Mr Finnegan took the stand in the Launceston Supreme Court.
The court had previously heard Mr Fitzgerald, Mr Finnegan and another friend Cameron Tattersall were drinking at the Summerhill unit, hours before the alleged murder.
Mr Finnegan told the jury Mr Tattersall and the alleged victim got into a fight and that he was punched in the back of the head when he tried to break them up.
“I turned around and saw Peter there coming towards me, so I punched him in the head. I wasn’t going to let him have another one,” Mr Finnegan told the court.
He said Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Tattersall ended up in the laundry and that he had tried to separate them. Mr Fitzgerald was conscious, but still lying on the floor, he said.
After the fight, Mr Finnegan said he spoke on the phone to his friend Sean Watkins. When the phone was passed onto Mr Tattersall, Mr Finnegan said Mr Tattersall was laughing about what had happened.
“It was a crazy laugh. It wasn’t right,” he said.
Crown Prosecutor Jackie Hartnett questioned if Mr Finnegan himself had not laughed and bragged about what had happened.
Holding up a photo of Mr Fitzgerald’s bloodied face she asked – “you didn’t say ‘I f---ed Fitzy up’ when he looked like this”.
“No, I didn’t say it,” he said.
Before leaving the unit Mr Finnegan said he checked on Mr Fitzgerald and rolled him onto his side.
“He was definitely alive at that time. He was snoring,” Mr Finnegan told the court.
Mr Tattersall and Mr Watkins both gave evidence earlier in the trial that they had gone to the unit to check on Mr Fitzgerald, only to find him dead.
When questioned by his defence lawyer Greg Richardson, Mr Finnegan said the the two men went back to get $1500 Mr Fitzgerald had claimed to have.
Ms Hartnett questioned why Mr Finnegan decided to call his mother, instead of police, after Mr Watkins told him Mr Fitzgerald was dead.
“I was trying to process everything. I was in shock myself,” he told the court.
The trial before Justice Michael Brett will resume on Monday.
Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
