Reveller killed sleeping friend by setting off rocket in bedroom

Published on Tuesday 3 March 2009 21:11

A MAN died in a fire after his friend tried to wake him up by setting off a firework in his bedroom, a court heard yesterday.

Jason McAnally, 22, lit the rocket after trying to wake Sean Keenan to get him to return to a party.

McAnally left the room and told friends that Mr Keenan, 21, had not even flinched when the firework went off. "He slept like a baby, he slept through it," he said.

However, the firework set fire to discarded clothing on the floor and Mr Keenan was overcome by smoke and died.

McAnally admitted the culpable homicide of Mr Keenan on 9 November last year at a flat in Mill Street, Ayr.

The advocate-depute, David Young, said Mr Keenan, a roofer, had been staying with a friend in the flat. It was common for a number of friends to meet for weekend drinking parties in a flat downstairs, and Mr Keenan left a party there in the early hours of 9 November to go up to his bed because he had work in the morning.

Attempts were made but failed to rouse him so he would return to the party. Around 4am, McAnally and two others decided to try again to wake him up.

They had joked about lighting a firework, and they took a rocket with them.

Mr Keenan did not stir when the friends shouted at him, and pulled his arms and legs. The others left, and heard a "whoosh" and a loud bang as they went downstairs. McAnally joined them and said he had set off the firework under a metal pot to stop it from bouncing about, but Mr Keenan had not even flinched.

About 40 minutes later, McAnally and his friend, Jamie Ross, went back upstairs and opened the door to Mr Keenan's flat and saw it was on fire. The accused shouted for Mr Ross to contact the emergency services and for another friend, Michael Greenwood, to fetch buckets of water.

"They did attempt to douse the fire using the water, but without success. They went into the hallway but due to the density of the smoke and the intensity of the heat, they were unable to enter the bedroom," said Mr Young.

Firefighters found Mr Keenan near the bedroom window. He did not respond to resuscitation and was pronounced dead.

A distressed McAnally told police it was all his fault, and said: "I'm going f****** mental. Have you ever killed your mate?"

"The deceased may have been significantly disorientated and would quickly have been overcome by smoke," Mr Young said. "Toxicology showed a high level of alcohol in his blood."

In a police interview later that day, McAnally said there had been smoke from the firework but he had not seen any fire. There was nothing glowing or burning and he had not thought anything untoward had happened.

The defence counsel, Mark Stewart, QC, said McAnally wanted to make a public apology to Mr Keenan's family for his "stupid and thoughtless act".

The judge, Lord Uist, told McAnally, a former soldier, of Spruce House, Prestwick, Ayrshire, that it was a very tragic case involving a very rash act.

He agreed to continue bail until McAnally is sentenced at the end of the month.