Killarney brothers not guilty of murder

THE two brothers on trial for murdering a man known as ‘English Jim’ in Killarney were found not guilty of murder and guilty of manslaughter yesterday.

Shane O’Riordan, 19, and his brother, Gerard O’Riordan, 25, of 26 Arbutus Grove, Killarney, Co Kerry, were on trial at the Central Criminal Court where they both denied the single charge of murdering James Brazier, 30, – also known as English Jim – in Killarney on April 15, 2007.

Justice Barry White remanded the brothers in custody until today to decide on when sentencing will take place.

The jury of nine men and three women deliberated for two hours and 45 minutes before reaching their unanimous verdicts. Both accused smiled broadly as the verdicts were delivered.

Justice White recapped some of the evidence before the jury retired to consider their verdicts.

He said that one witness described Shane making repeated stabbing motions into the back of Mr Brazier and that when the knife was found, there were traces of blood linked to the deceased and to the accused, Shane O’Riordan.

The prosecution made the case that Gerard struck Mr Brazier after his brother stabbed him 12 times. Justice White addressed the jury on this issue.

“It is for you to decide why the assault carried on. Was it because Gerard was hellbent on assault without constraint and was he adopting Shane’s conduct as part of the joint enterprise? ... Or is there a less guilty interpretation to be put on it?” the judge asked.

The judge referred to the fact that a 15-year-old girl was in bed with the 30-year-old deceased prior to the attack and that her nine-year-old brother was up watching television at 2am and it was the child who let the O’Riordans into the house.

“This is a court of law, not a court of morals, (the teenager) and her mother were together drinking that day. Ignore the abhorrence you may have,” he said.

Patrick McEntee, senior counsel for Shane O’Riordan, said, “There she is stripped for action beside a man twice her age who is also stripped for action. That young man (Shane) is clearly shocked and disturbed.” He said there could be no clearer example of a man suffering a sudden and temporary loss of control and that the appropriate verdict was one of manslaughter rather than murder.

On behalf of Gerard O’Riordan, Tom Creed senior counsel said, “There is no evidence that they went there to do in Jimmy or anything like that.”

Prosecution senior counsel Michael Durack said it was the prosecution case that the two accused went down to the teenager’s house to find Mr Brazier and that they went down “to at least give him a good hiding …

“There was a joint enterprise to do him harm.”