McDowell defends decision to try killer of Georgina Eager in Britain
Mr McDowell said, while he did not know why the prosecution opted for a British trial for bogus doctor Christopher Newman, he was certain it was “for good legal grounds.” He speculated that the decision may have been made because of the prosecution case’s reliance on statements of confession made by Newman to British police who arrested him in London shortly after he fled Dublin, leaving Ms Eager’s bloodied remains for her distraught family to find. “A law student who looked at the progress of the trial in Britain would come to the view that, depending as it did on confessional material, it may well have been the case that it was decided that it would be better to try the case where the statements were taken for admissibility reasons,” he said.
He added that if the Irish authorities had sought to extradite Newman, there could have been “immense delays” in the trial which ended on Tuesday with Newman convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
