Murder accused breaks down as he tells gardaí he never meant to hurt anyone

A man accused of murdering a Co Tipperary pensioner told detectives that he never set out to harm anyone and he denied striking the victim when caught breaking into his garage.

Sean Harding (32) of Marian Terrace in Tipperary town has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Timothy ‘Teddy’ Murnane (80) but guilty to his manslaughter at his home at St Michael’s Ave, Tipperary town, on September 12th, 2025.

On the fifth day of his trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, the jury of five men and seven women were shown video recordings of Harding being interviewed by gardaí following his arrest on September 13th, 2025, for questioning about the burglary.

At that stage, Murnane was in a critical condition at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) after suffering serious head injuries.

Murnane had been found unresponsive on the ground by the garage by his wife, Margaret, after he failed to return from checking on a noise he heard at his garage. He was taken by ambulance to UHL, where died at 9.45pm on September 14^th.

Harding, who has pleaded guilty to three burglary charges on the same date including two at Murnane’s home, broke down and wept throughout the interview as he gave gardaí an account of what happened when he broke into Murnane’s garage to steal tools to sell to feed his drug addiction.

He told gardaí how he had used his shoulder to push in the side door to Murnane’s garage and was gathering tools from the workshop and putting them in a black holdall he had brought when Murnane disturbed him .

“I pushed hard at him to escape, that’s what happened. I never set out to harm anyone or cause any harm to anyone. I went in to see if I could get a few tools. I was in the middle of putting them in the bag when I heard someone at the door and I barged past him and I legged it.

“I was looking for tools. I was going around with the bag getting the tools. I heard someone at the door. I got a fright. It happened so fast. I was right behind the door when I heard the noise. He was coming in the door – I barged straight through and he hopped off the ground.”

Pressed by detectives if he hit or struck Murnane, Harding denied striking him. He said he only pushed him and when asked if he pushed him with an open hand or closed fist, he said it was with his open hands and while he was not sure, he thought he pushed Murnane in the chest area.

Harding said he did not say anything to Murnane and that he didn’t know if he said anything to him, adding it all happened so fast He again reiterated that he did not hit Murnane and told gardaí that being violent and hitting people during burglaries was not his “form”.

When the detectives told the defendant that Murnane was on life support in University Hospital Limerick and outlined the seriousness of the situation to him, he asked them what was going to happen to him. “I’m f**ked,” he said.

Harding confirmed to the detectives he was the man seen on CCTV footage from a nearby house heading towards Murnane’s house at 9.34pm with a black holdall bag and then running away from Murnane’s house two minutes later without the bag.

Asked if he had anything that he wanted to say to the Murnane family, he said, “I am sorry, I hope he is OK ... I just saw an opportunity to get tools for drugs.”

The trial continues.