The jury in the Central Criminal Court trial of a man accused of capital murder was discharged yesterday after the eleven members failed to reach a majority verdict.
The jury of six women and five men were discharged from their duties and declared exempt from jury service for life after failing to agree on two charges of murder and murder of a Garda acting in the course of his duties.
Mr Daniel O'Toole (37), of Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, Dublin denied that on the 21st July 1999 at Tallaght Garda Station he murdered Sergeant Andrew Callanan, a Garda Sergeant, who was acting in the course of his duties.
Mr O'Toole denied capital murder but admitted manslaughter but this was not acceptable to the State. Capital murder carries an automatic minimum prison sentence of 40-years.
A simple charge of murder was also put to the accused, as an alternative charge to capital murder.He denied the simple murder charge but admitted manslaughter.
Mr O'Toole also denies a further charge of arson on the same date, with intention to damage property but was found guilty by a unanimous verdict.
During the four-and-a-half hour deliberations the jury had been sent to a hotel overnight before resuming deliberations yesterday.Just after lunch, the foreman of the jury told the court agreement could not be reached and Mr Justice Paul Carney ruled for them to be discharged.
He said it was "unfortunate" and a "matter of tragedy" that the jury could not reach a majority verdict of 10 to 1 and that the case "will take the best part of a year to come back to the courts."
Mr Justice Carney said he "made every effort" to encourage the jury to reach a verdict and he ordered that the case be put back in tothe next list of fixed dates.
The jury of six women and five men failed to reach a verdict on two of the three counts before them but found the accused guilty of count two, which was a charge of arson.Sentencing for that charge will be appropriated when the other two charges are decided before a new jury.
Agreeing to release the accused on bail, Mr Justice Carney said that if he "so much as looks at a prosecution witness or causes them concern" an application may be made to revoke bail.