A post mortem examination of the body of an infamous Limerick gangland figure who died in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin two years ago, revealed he had severe heart disease and had taken cocaine shortly before his death.
A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard David Stanners (aged 51), formerly of Delmege Park, Moyross, Limerick, was found unresponsive in his cell on the prison’s D3 landing just before midnight on October 25, 2023.
The deceased, who was aligned to the McCarthy-Dundon crime group, was one of five individuals given life sentences for the murder of rival gang boss, Kieran Keane, on January 29, 2003. The group, including Stanners, had kidnapped, tortured and murdered the 36-year-old as part of a violent gangland feud which has been linked to 19 murders in the Limerick region.
An inquest into Stanners’ death on Wednesday heard efforts to resuscitate the prisoner were unsuccessful after a prison officer conducting a routine check saw him on the floor of his cell at around 11.45pm.
Prison officer, Dara Nolan, said he raised the alarm because of his concerns that there was no response from Stanners when he was lying on his back on the floor of his cell. “I called his name and gave a couple of loud bangs to the door but that did not have any effect,” he added.
Another prison officer, Martin Bergin, gave evidence that there was nothing unusual noticed with the prisoner during other routine checks earlier that evening, including one at 11.30pm.
A prison nurse, Alison Donnelly, told the inquest she had arrived in the cell within a few minutes of being alerted and found that the prisoner had no pulse and was not breathing. Ms Donnelly said she immediately commenced CPR on Stanners, while also attaching a defibrillator which at no stage advised administering a shock.
Resuscitation efforts were taken over by paramedics from Dublin Fire Brigade at around 12.05am on October 26, 2023, who continued working on the prisoner until 12.30am when they were satisfied he displayed no vital signs and was pronounced dead.
State pathologist, Heidi Okkers, who conducted a post mortem on the body of the deceased, said he had severe disease of his coronary arteries.
Dr Okkers said a toxicology report also showed he had also recently consumed cocaine, although the level was “not significantly high.” However, coroner Myra Cullinane noted that any quantity of cocaine can lead to an increased risk of some cardiac event.
Dr Okkers concluded that Stanners had died from ischemic cardiomyopathy — a condition where the heart muscle weakens due to a lack of blood flow — as well as recent cocaine use. She said there were no other contributory factors to his death.
In reply to questions from Dr Cullinane, the pathologist said the severity of his heart disease meant he could have suffered a heart attack or irregular heartbeat at any time. The inquest heard that Stanners had no medical history and was not on any medication at the time of his death.
Dr Okkers said taking cocaine would have placed an additional load on his heart and increased the risk. Both the pathologist and Dr Cullinane advised relatives of Stanners’ family who attended the hearing that they should get tested to see if they had any underlying heart disease.
The deceased’s sister, Natalie Stanners, gave evidence of formally identifying her brother’s body to gardaí at Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall. Garda Philip Carroll confirmed that gardaí were satisfied that there was nothing suspicious in relation to the death.
A jury of six women and one man returned a verdict of death due to natural causes. They made no recommendations based on the evidence heard at the inquest.
Offering her condolences to relatives of the deceased, Dr Cullinane noted that he had been seeking a transfer back to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise at the time of his death in order to be closer to his family.
Stanners, who was nicknamed “Frog Eyes”, and four others — Dessie Dundon, Christy Costello, Anthony “Noddy” McCarthy and James McCarthy — were also convicted of the attempted murder of Keane’s nephew, Owen Treacy, who survived despite being stabbed 17 times.
Mr Treacy identified Stanners as the individual who had shot his uncle dead as well as stabbing him numerous times and leaving him for dead. The deceased had claimed he was at home watching TV with his family when Keane was kidnapped and murdered.
