Homeless Man Brutally Beaten to Death 'For Being Gay'

A witness told a court in Ireland Monday that 53-year-old father Timmy Hourihane was savagely beaten to death "for no other reason than for being gay."

The father of one died after being assaulted on October 13, 2019, in a tent city of those experiencing homelessness in Cork, Southern Star reports. Hourihane had previously been a chef who worked for the Hilton Hotel Group in the U.K.

Two men have been charged with his murder, including 28-year-old James Brady. He has pleaded not guilty. The other man cannot be named due to reporting restrictions, according to the outlet.

In October, Hourihane was found with severe injuries and was suffering from brain swelling after experiencing blunt force trauma to the head and facial trauma, state pathologist Dr. Margot Bolster told the court. She added that an autopsy revealed 17 different injuries to his face.

A woman who also lived in the tent city said she'd tried to protect Hourihane during the attack.

Kathleen O'Brien told the jury that the two defendants were "firing each other up, getting angrier and angrier" when they arrived at the camp. She said she believed Brady attacked Hourihane first, punching him "in the face with his fist" before "Timmy fell over."

She added, "James Brady opened his legs and said to [the unnamed man] to 'go on, kick him, he's only a faggot.'"

O'Brien said the two started stomping on Hourihane's head and legs while she tried to use herself as a human shield, according to the Southern Star. She told the jury she suffered a black eye and bruises as a result.

"There was no stopping. I screamed and pleaded, everything, for them to stop," she said.

She explained that the only reason they stopped was that they were tired after they beat Hourihane "beyond recognition."

The defense asked if Brady could have been pulling the other defendant off Hourihane, but O'Brien said that wasn't what happened.

"James Brady and [the other man] were riling each other up. James Brady was trying to say that Timmy flirted with him and tried to drop a hand on him," O'Brien said. "That got [the other man] riled up and then the two of them got into a rage. James Brady hit Timmy and Timmy fell down and then [the other man] went in."

She later said, "I can tell you this, with my hand on my heart, on the Holy Bible, James Brady and [the other man] killed that man for no other reason than the man was gay."

The murder trial continues.