Irishman to face US murder charge

By John Breslin AN Irishman will be formally charged next week with the murder of a Swiss national in the United States.

The trial of William Monaghan, whose family lives in Co Meath, is set to begin next month. And an Irishwoman of unknown address will be a key witness in the murder trial.

Mr Monaghan will be formally charged with the murder of Swiss national Lionel Voillat, 34, next Monday.

Monaghan is accused of throwing Mr Voillat overboard following a heated confrontation at the San Francisco Bay party.

The trial follows a series of court hearings, including one just before Christmas where a judge ordered there was sufficient evidence for the trial to proceed. The prosecution had asked for the trial to be speeded up as the key witness, Irishwoman Bernadette Mee, wanted to return home.

At that two-day hearing, Ms Mee testified that Mr Monaghan confessed to throwing Mr Voillat overboard just minutes after the Swiss man disappeared on October 26 last.

His body was discovered in the water close to Alcatraz three weeks after the alleged incident. The accused, a 27-year-old carpenter who had been working for some time on the west coast, denies the charge and is being held in custody in lieu of $5m bail.

Ms Mee, who had met the accused briefly a few weeks before the ill-fated party, told San Francisco Superior Court that the defendant approached her on the Royal Prince boat.

She said he was making polite conversation when Viva Taylor, a girlfriend of the dead man, approached and asked after her boyfriend.