A Cork man has been acquitted of murder but found guilty of the manslaughter of one of his neighbours at the Central Criminal Court.
After deliberating for 4½ hours, the jury found Keith O'Donovan (31), Spriggs Road, Gurranebraher, Cork city, not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Noel McCarthy (28) on May 4th, 2000.
The court remanded O'Donovan in custody for sentencing on October 8th. O'Donovan had been found guilty by a jury of the murder of Mr McCarthy during a previous trial on June 28th, 2002.
The Court of Criminal Appeal granted him a retrial and he pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter when arraigned at the start of the retrial last week. He pleaded provocation as his defence.
O'Donovan, a single father of a 10-year-old son, has 18 previous convictions dating back to 1989.
A number of convictions were for assault, including assault with a knife and assault with intent to rob. Garda sources confirmed yesterday he is currently serving 17 years in prison for armed robbery and attempted robbery.
The jury had heard during the six-day trial that after a row with the victim, O'Donovan called to the McCarthy home on Spriggs Road at about 2.30 a.m., pushed the front door in when Mrs McCarthy answered it and stabbed Noel McCarthy in the groin.
The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, told the court that the knife had completed severed Mr McCarthy's femoral artery and punctured his bladder. Despite emergency surgery at Cork Mercy Hospital, he bled to death.