by Louise Doyle

A JURY returned two unanimous verdicts into the deaths of a father and son at a coroner’s inquest in Letterkenny today.

The bodies of Daniel Duffy (88) and his son, Damien, aged 50, were found in their home in Windyhall, Letterkenny, just two days before Christmas on December 23, 2021.

Jury members returned a verdict of blunt force head injuries (Intracerebral hemorrhaging) inflicted by another in the case of Daniel Duffy.

A verdict of carbon monoxide toxicity was found to be the cause of death of Damien Duffy, with a finding of suicide.

The coroner’s inquest, held in Letterkenny Courthouse, first heard from Daniel Duffy’s carer, Bridgeen Doherty, who discovered Mr Duffy’s body in his bedroom. In her deposition, read into the inquest by Garda Inspector Sean McDaid, Ms Doherty said upon entering Mr Duffy’s home that morning she went to his bedroom where she found the door closed, which was not unusual.

“Danny would get up in the morning and make himself porridge and then go back to bed.”

Ms Doherty said when she entered Mr Duffy’s bedroom, the room was dark and the blinds were pulled down.

“I put on the light and it was obvious that Danny was dead. I thought he had died in his sleep.”

Ms Doherty called 999, and told the emergency services she was at the home of Mr Duffy and that he was dead.

Ms Doherty said she saw dried blood on Mr Duffy’s neck and left ear.

“I thought he had had a nose bleed,” she said.

Ms Doherty said she went to open the kitchen door but was unable to due to something behind the door.

“There was glass on the floor. I put my hand between the gap of the door and I saw that the kitchen was black with soot. When I saw the glass on the floor, I thought Danny had cut himself.”

An ambulance arrived at 10.40am.

The inquest heard ambulance staff had tried to contact Daniel Duffy’s son but that his mobile phone kept ringing out.

Ms Doherty said she also thought it was strange that his car was not parked at the front of the house as was normal.

“I just assumed Damien had the car,” she said.

Ms Doherty told the inquest how she was very fond of Mr Duffy, and really enjoyed her time caring for him.

“Danny was a real gentleman. I loved looking after him.

“Danny would have kept himself and his home well but that day it was like a bomb hit it. I thought Danny had cut himself and just went back into bed,” said Ms Doherty.

Sergeant Elaine Gordon,  Letterkenny Garda Station,  was on duty on December 23, 2021, when at 10.36am a call was received of a sudden death at a residence.

“At 10.58am, I discovered Daniel Duffy deceased in his bedroom.

“I noted there was blood on his left ear and there was blood to the right hand side of the bed. The door to the kitchen has several glass panes which were smashed and I could see the kitchen was destroyed by fire.”

The inquest was told continuous efforts were made to contact Damien Duffy.

Coroner Dr Denis McCauley was contacted at 11.30am.

Sergeant Gordon said she contacted Superintendent Finan after becoming concerned that the scene was suspicious.

“Danny looked peaceful, but there was concern about the blood coming from his ear and hair on the bed.”

Superintendent Michael Finan subsequently declared a crime scene.

The inquest heard how photographs of the scene were taken by Sergeant Aiden Doherty.

“There were sheds to the rear of house. There were visible finger marks on the back door but the door was closed.

“Mr Duffy was positioned on his back, his head was resting on two pillows. There was blood which indicated foul play. There was an injury to the back of his right hand. There was a clump of hair on the bed and in Mr Duffy’s hand.”

The hair was sent for analysis and it was found to belong to Damien Duffy.

Detective Garda Seamus O’Donnell, who is attached to the ballistics and forensics investigation section of An Garda Síochána, examined the scene the following day.

“The scene had been preserved by local gardaí. I had been made aware that the bodies of two men had been discovered there the previous day.

He told the inquest there was no electrical causes that would have led to the fire. He described the fire as a slow burning one, which extinguished naturally.

Dr McCauley asked about a finding in a report compiled by Dr O’Neill regarding footprints found in the soot.

Detective Garda O’Donnell told the inquest that he viewed the footwear belonging to Damien Duffy and the footprints were compatible with his.

A deposition from Dr Kovacs, Arc Medical Centre, who pronounced the death of Daniel Duffy at 15.40pm, was read into the inquest by Garda Inspector Sean McDaid

State Pathologist SallyAnne Collis attended the inquest via video link. She carried out a postmortem examination on the body of Daniel Duffy. She said Mr Duffy had a history of diabetes, heart disease and was prescribed warfarin. He was last seen alive on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.

She said on external examination, there was evidence of blunt force injuries to Mr Duffy’s head, neck and upper limbs. There was evidence in Mr Duffy’s airways of a potential suffocation attempt.

“There was evidence of of blunt force trauma and acute cerebral contusions as a result of the brain colliding with the skull.”

Dr McCauley asked if the injuries Mr Duffy sustained were caused by an object or by hand, to which she said the injuries were the result of fists.

Garda Inspector Sean McDaid said that it was his opinion that Mr Duffy died as a result of blunt force trauma inflicted by another person.

Dr McCauley told the jury members that an inquest is not to apportion blame or exonerate anyone, before asking them to retire to discuss their finding. Returning a short time later, the foreman of the jury said they had reached a unanimous verdict in the death of Daniel Duffy, finding that he had died as the result of blunt force head injuries (Intracerebral hemorrhage) inflicted by another.

The jury were then asked to listen to the evidence into the death of Damien Duffy.

Garda Gordon told the inquest that gardaí became concerned for the health of Damien Duffy. She told of how she observed a bucket and a rope in a shed at the property.

The inquest heard how the body of Damien Duffy was found in the passenger seat of a Peugeot car in the shed. There was a petrol leaf blower in the car, which was no longer running. A bucket and a rope, which was no longer attached to the rafters, was found. The rope was in the form of a noose.

Both doors of the Peugeot car were locked. Access to the vehicle was gained through the unlocked boot, the inquest was told.

A deposition by Dr Adrienn Kovacs was read into the inquest. She said there was no sign of injury on the body of Damien Duffy

Dr Collis said an external examination of the body of Damien Duffy said soot was found on his face, in the nostrils and on his clothing. She told the inquest there were self harm injuries to his arms but there was no damage to major arteries. There was no damage to Damien Duffy’s scalp, skull or brain. There was external compression of the neck due to attempted hanging.

“His lungs were congested and his heart was enlarged. Following death, the carbon monoxide level was greater than 75 per cent.

“Petrol leaf blowers would give off carbon monoxide but when used outside it dissipates.”

Dr Collis said there were three episodes of self harm prior to the death of Mr Duffy.

Having retired for a short time, the jury returned a verdict of carbon monoxide toxicity as the cause of death, with a finding of suicide.

Dr McCauley thanked the Duffy family and jury members for their empathy and professionalism.

“When there is a death in a family it is a very traumatic thing. This must have been very difficult. Hopefully by understanding what happened you can now grieve for a father and a brother.”

The foreman of the jury also offered best wishes to the family. Garda Inspector Sean McDaid passed on his condolences on behalf of An Garda Síochana.