'If I didn't kill him, he'd have killed me': eyewitness tells garda murder trial he heard 'shooter'

A witness told the Central Criminal Court murder trial that he heard the accused man say "If I didn't kill him, he would have killed me" at the scene in Castlerea, County Roscommon. Marcus Silvera, a resident of Main Street in the town, testified that he heard gunshots shortly before midnight on 17 June 2020 and observed a man with long hair and a black leather jacket walking in the street and shouting. Garda Enda Rowley also gave evidence, describing how the accused, Stephen Silver, was found handcuffed at the scene and later questioned at Castlerea Garda Station. Mr Silver, aged 46, a motorbike mechanic from Foxford, County Mayo, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Detective Garda Colm Horkan but has admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. The trial before Mr Justice Paul McDermott continues at the Central Criminal Court.