A woman accused of killing an elderly man at a bedsit in Dublin has admitted kicking and punching him, but claims her brother tortured him to death.

Sabrina and Kenneth Cummins, who are both from Ringsend Park in Dublin 4, deny murdering Thomas Horan in January 2014.

In her evidence to the jury today, Sabrina Cummins described Thomas Horan as a “very nice man” who was “like a Dad to her” and said she went to his home in the early hours of Jan 6th 2014 because she needed somewhere to stay after a row with her boyfriend.

She said her brother Kenneth went with her and pretended to be a taxi driver demanding cash for her fare before trying to suffocate him with a plastic bag and strangling him with a belt.

Under cross-examination, Sabrina said she’d lied about her reason for going to Tom’s bedsit and admitted going there for money. She also admitted kicking and punching the 63-year-old, but insists it was her brother who tortured him to death.

Both deny murdering Mr. Horan, and Sabrina will return to the stand tomorrow afternoon.