The trial of a man charged with the murder of a man whose body was found in a laneway in Ranelagh in south Dublin almost two years ago has begun.
Mr Martin Comerford died from gunshot wounds on the morning before he was due to stand trial for a gangland murder.
The accused man, Mr Paul McCarthy, from Chamber Court, Chamber Street in Dublin claims that his friend, Mr Comerford wanted to die to avoid a life sentence in jail.
Mr Comerford was facing trial on April 26 1999, for the murder of Anthony Chester Beatty, but he was discovered that morning with a gunshot wound to the chest.
McCarthy has claimed that his friend, a father of four, had asked him to kill him because he was anxious about the trial.