Garda custody death teen was 'off his head' when arrested
A TEENAGER who was "off his head" on cocaine grabbed a knife and waved it at his ex-girlfriend's sister and her two-year-old son.
Paul Magee (19) was delusional from the drug and thought men with guns were after him, an inquest into his death heard yesterday.
Mr Magee of Rutland Grove, Crumlin, Dublin 12 was pronounced dead at St James's Hospital on St Stephen's Day 2002 -- after he was found unconscious in a cell at Kilmainham garda station shortly after his arrest.
Dublin City Coroner's Court heard that Samantha Dowdall, who had previously been in a relationship with Mr Magee, called the gardai in the early hours of December 26.
She had just run out of her sister, Jacqueline Dowdall's flat at Dolphin House, Dublin 8 -- accompanied by three friends.
"I was terrified of him . . . I thought he was going to cut Jacqueline or someone," Ms Dowdall said.
"I thought he was on something. He was tripping . . . he was hallucinating. He kept saying 'They have a gun, they are going to get me'. He had a split personality when he took cocaine."
The inquest, which first opened in February 2004, heard that Mr Magee arrived at the flat, where the girls were having a few drinks, at around 2.30am. He seemed fine but became aggressive and paranoid.
Jacqueline Dowdall, whose two-year-old son was asleep in a bedroom at the time, asked Mr Magee to leave. He left, but kicked at the front door seconds later. When Jacqueline opened the door, he pushed his way in and told the group of five there were men with guns after him. He grabbed the knife.
Mad
"He was out of it and mad when he came in," said Samantha Dowdall, adding that she saw cocaine around his lips. He was "imagining things".
Ms Dowdall spent a number of hours with Mr Magee earlier, on Christmas Day. He told her he had taken cocaine.
Garda Nathan McKenna of Kilmainham garda station told the inquest: "I entered the flat (at around 4.30am) and saw Paul Magee racing into the kitchen with a large kitchen knife in his hand. Paul slammed the door shut and starting ranting and raving about people being after him."
A neighbour, Joseph Wade, tried to calm Mr Magee down through the closed door.
"All of a sudden, the kitchen door was flung open and Paul Magee lunged at Joseph Wade and myself. He landed on Joseph Wade and started to punch and kick him."
Gda McKenna then struck Mr Magee twice on the mid-section with his baton and he was arrested and handcuffed.
Gda McKenna and his colleague, assisted by two other officers, brought Mr Magee -- still aggressive -- to a patrol car.
Speedball
Gda McKenna, who was driving, said Mr Magee told his colleague he took a "speedball".
Mr Magee, who became aggressive again, was placed in a cell at Kilmainham garda station, in handcuffs, at 4.45am.
When Gda Ronan Lawlor went to the cell to remove Mr Magee's shoes, at 4.57am, he found him kneeling on the ground with his upper body on the bed -- hands cuffed behind his back. He was blue and didn't appear to be breathing.
Gardai commenced CPR and Mr Magee, who had suffered a cardiac arrest, was brought by ambulance to St James's Hospital where was resuscitated.
He arrived there at 5.28am but suffered a second cardiac arrest a short time later. He died at 8.20pm on December 26 despite intensive treatment.
A urine dipstick was positive for cocaine. A post-mortem by the then assistant State pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy found the death was consistent with cocaine-related collapse.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell adjourned the inquest into Mr Magee's death to a date in February 2010, when Prof Cassidy will give evidence.
- Georgina O'Halloran
Irish Independent
