The jury in the case against a man on trial for biting off part of his first cousin’s ear failed to reach a verdict yesterday after almost four hours of deliberation.

A man on trial for biting part of his cousin’s ear off said he never assaulted the relative and claimed yesterday that the complainant had asked his father for €20,000 to drop the case.

A Cork woman who told gardaí she killed her daughter because Our Lady told her to has been found not guilty by reason of insanity at the Central Criminal Court today.