Court tense as Kearney jury faces ‘most difficult’ role

AS the trial of businessman Brian Kearney for the murder of his wife Siobhán enters its final stage, the focus of the case switched perceptibly yesterday to the eight women and four men who constitute the jury.

And with it, the tension in Court No 3 reached a new level of intensity as the crowd that attended the daily hearings over the past fortnight was swollen further by the arrival of more relatives and friends offering support to the two families at the centre of the case.

At the outset yesterday, the jury was reminded it has “the most difficult and most important role in the trial”.

Brian Kearney sat alongside his daughter, Aoife, and other family members, while relatives of Siobhán, including the McLaughlin family, were seated a short distance away at right angles to the accused. The jurors were requested to put aside any emotion or natural sympathy that they would feel for all parties.

They listened intently as lawyers for the prosecution and defence presented their closing arguments in an attempt to persuade the jury of the merits of their case.

Dominic McGinn BL for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) invited them to consider that there was “only one inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the evidence”, namely that Brian Kearney was guilty of his wife’s murder.

He reminded the courtroom that the Kearneys’ marriage was in serious trouble and how the couple were on the verge of separating.

In addition, Mr McGinn pointed out that evidence about the accused’s finances showed that he was overstretched in his borrowings and would have to sell either one of his two houses in Goatstown or their hotel in Spain.

“The separation would not suit him financially,” said Mr McGinn.

Although the evidence was largely circumstantial, he argued that the jury should infer that nobody from outside the Kearney household was involved in Siobhán’s death, while the scientific evidence showed she could not have taken her own life.

“If Siobhán Kearney did not commit suicide, the only other option is that Brian Kearney killed her,” the prosecution barrister said.

After lunch, Mr Kearney’s barrister, Patrick Gageby SC summed up the case for the defence, pointing out that DNA evidence discovered near knots on the vacuum cleaner flex found around the victim’s body belonged to a male who was not Mr Kearney.

He also questioned why, if his client had tried to fake his wife’s death to look like suicide, Brian Kearney had not made a strong case to gardaí that she had died by this method.

Mr Gageby acknowledged the couple’s marital difficulties but stressed there was no history of violence, threats of violence, jealousy, extra-marital affairs or any suggestion of a potential vicious custody battle.

He also sought to question the motive of finances, claiming Mr Kearney had ample funds available to him from his family business.

The Kearney and McLaughlin families yesterday sat mostly in stony silence as they heard the closing arguments — the inevitable strain of the proceedings becoming more visible on their faces.

At 11am today, trial judge Mr Justice Barry White will begin summing up the evidence to the jury before they are likely to be sent out to consider their verdict at some stage this afternoon.

Then the nerve-wracking waiting game as they decide if Brian Kearney is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.