A Dublin man has been found not guilty of the murder but guilty of the manslaughter of an archaeologist in Co Cavan 18 months ago.
Kevin Moran (30) of Lodgeview, Cootehill, Co Cavan, but originally from Shankill in Dublin, was charged before the Central Criminal Court with the murder of Emmet Connolly (32) at Lodgeview, Cootehill on September 29th, 2013.
When asked how he pleaded to the charge last week, Moran, a widowed father of three, said “not guilty. Not guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter”.
This plea was not accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The jury began its deliberations last Friday afternoon and spent over four hours and 43 minutes deliberating before Mr Justice Paul Carney sent them home for the weekend.
The jury returned on Monday morning and spent 28 minutes deliberating, bringing the total deliberations to five hours and 11 minutes.
They found Moran not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, by a majority verdict of 10-2.
Moran was remanded in custody until March 9th for sentencing.
Judge Carney thanked the jury and excused them from jury service for the rest of their lives.
The five day trial before Mr Justice Paul Carney heard how the deceased was stabbed 17 times following a “drink-fuelled” argument which ensued between Mr Connolly and Mr Moran on Saturday, September 28th, 2013.
The jury of seven men and five women previously heard evidence that Moran told gardaí in an interview that he panicked and stabbed the deceased after a fight, but later told them he had stabbed Mr Connolly in a “rage”.
According to Moran’s statement at the time of being charged, a row had developed between him and Mr Connolly. Moran suggested that Mr Connolly wanted drugs but no drugs were procured.
Counsel for the DPP, Paddy McCarthy SC said previously there was no previous history between Moran and Mr Connolly and they had not known each other.
Last Thursday, Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis gave evidence, where he outlined to the court the extent of the 17 stab wounds inflicted on Mr Connolly (32).
The court previously heard Mr Connolly was single and had lived with his family. He had graduated from NUI Galway and had recently returned from Australia.
When Dr Curtis arrived at the scene at 2.45pm on September 29th, there no sign of life to be found from Mr Connolly who he observed sitting on a plastic bag up against a freezer “which bore blood stains.” Sitting in a crouched position, Mr Connolly was beside a sliding back patio door leading into the back garden.
Mr Curtis told the court a black handled knife, seven inches long with a distortion to the tip, was found on the drain of the kitchen sink.
The postmortem conducted by Dr Curtis found that the majority of the wounds to Mr Connolly were to his left collar bone, his front left shoulder region, his left upper arm and left upper back.
Dr Curtis stated to the court last week, that the cause of death of Mr Connolly was from “multiple stab wounds” and there was no wounds to his stomach, as initially implied by Moran.
Judge Carney asked the jury to consider another partial defence, provocation, which can also reduce murder to manslaughter.