The parts of the puzzle that led to guilty verdict

BOTH prosecution and defence legal teams accepted that the case against Joe O’Reilly was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

There was no direct evidence or forensic evidence to link O’Reilly to his wife’s death as there were no eye-witnesses to the killing and results from tests on his clothing provided no clues to suggest he was responsible for her murder.

As trial judge, Mr Justice Barry White, remarked at one stage, a piece of circumstantial evidence might prove of little value on its own. However, such a piece of evidence when taken in conjunction with other circumstantial evidence allows a jury to consider “if it fits in the jigsaw puzzle”.