Social networking website posed threat to trial

A MESSAGE on a Bebo social networking site to 'Get the right result' could have brought about the collapse of the trial.

The brother of a young woman serving on the jury brought it to the attention of the court staff at a key point in the trial —Day 31 — the commencement of defence evidence, that her brother received a message on his Bebo site, referring to the trial and bearing the words, 'Get the right result'.

This was one of several moments in the trial where Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin was asked to discharge the entire jury which would have automatically collapsed the case and brought about the necessity of a re-trial.