Northern Ireland

Conan Anderson: Man accused of 22-year-old's manslaughter takes witness stand

Conan Anderson (22), from the Short Strand area of Belfast
Conan Anderson (22), from the Short Strand area of Belfast Conan Anderson (22), from the Short Strand area of Belfast

A man accused of killing 22-year-old Conan Anderson in a 'one punch' assault has denied lying in a bid to save himself from the consequences of his actions.

Lawrence Dowie (28) today took to the witness stand at Belfast Crown Court where he denies manslaughter.

The football coach from the Short Strand area of the city fell backwards and hit his head off a pavement after he was struck on the jaw by Dowie during an early morning altercation in Arthur Lane on February 6 last year.

He was unconscious for a time before making his way home, but was rushed to hospital later that day and died 12 days later as a result of severe head injuries including a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

Dowie, whose address cannot be published due to a reporting restriction, has admitted punching Mr Anderson once but insisted he was acting in self-defence.

He maintained that he only struck out after Mr Anderson came at him first by headbutting him and throwing two punches which didn't connect.

At one point, when asked if it would have been "much easier to run away", Dowie said: "If I could have had time to think... I wish I had have."

He also rejected suggestions he was "trying to blacken Conan" and that he was "embellishing things for the jury".

The acccused was first questioned by his barrister Gavan Duffy, then by Crown lawyer Richard Weir.

Dowie said he had been with a friend that morning who received a text about city centre bar AM:PM and when they arrived, Mr Anderson was among a group of people present - and that "everybody was in good form, having a drink and a laugh".

Describing himself as "tipsy", Dowie said he had been doing magic tricks in the storeroom where there was "a bit of banter".

The jury of eight men and four women have heard there was an altercation between Mr Anderson and Dowie at around 5.30am, when they left AM:PM and were standing on the street.

Dowie said at this stage there was "just a bit of slagging".

"Conan was calling me Dumbledore because I was doing magic tricks and I was calling him Gandalf."

When asked by Mr Duffy if he meant any harm by this comment, Dowie replied: "No. It was all just a bit of innocent slagging. After I said to him 'Aye, no sweat Gandalf', he came over from the footpath to where I was in the middle of the road. He came straight over with his hands down by his side, fists clenched.

"There wasn't any time to think. I sort of froze. He put his head into mine... his head connected with the bridge of my nose."

Claiming the entire incident lasted "around 20 seconds at the most", Dowie said: "Everything happened so quickly. He was coming forward to me with punches."

Asked by Mr Duffy "How did you react to that?", Dowie said: "I swung one back. I didn't have time to think. I just reacted. It was a panic swing to get him away from me. I believe it connected with his chin."

The accused said Mr Anderson then "fell to the ground" and his reaction was one of "panic".

"I didn't know what to think. I helped him up off the ground."

Asked by his barrister if he set out to cause Mr Anderson harm, he replied: "Completely not. I didn't want to fight in the first place."

Dowie said that when he helped get Mr Anderson to his feet, he noticed a bit of blood on his face but saw no other injury: "I didn't think he was injured at all."

Asked how he felt when Mr Anderson passed away, he said: "Terrible. It's a terrible tragedy. Someone has lost their life, at the end of the day."

Under cross-examination, Mr Weir accused Dowie of making up the claim that Mr Anderson called him Dumbledore - a reference to a wizard from the Harry Potter books - saying he didn't mention this to police.

Asked why he told police the other man "tried to headbutt" him when he was telling the jury the headbutt connected with his nose. Dowie said "my head was all over the place, my nerves were wrecked".

The prosecutor claimed this was "another demonstration of your inclination to lie about these matters to try and save yourself from the consequences of your actions".

This was denied by Dowie, who also branded as "incorrect" a claim by the Crown that he was "happy to fight" with Mr Anderson.

Mr Weir then said: "Have you heard of fight or flight? You chose to stand and fight. You chose not to fly."

Dowie responded: "Are you saying it's my fault because I didn't run away? I didn't have time. I didn't think. I froze."

The trial is due to resume next week.