Jury fails to reach verdict in Joel trial

A JURY yesterday failed to reach a verdict in the trial of Eleanor Joel and her partner John Costen, who had denied the unlawful killing, by neglect, of Evelyn Joel.

Eleanor Joel and Costen, of Cluain Dara, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, had pleaded not guilty before Judge Gerard Griffin at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court.

The charge related to dates between December 1, 2005, and January 7, 2006.

The jury, after an absence of more than four hours, told Judge Griffin they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the case.

When asked by the judge if they would be able to reach a majority verdict the jury foreman said “no”.

Judge Griffin, discharging the jury, thanked them for their dedicated service over the seven weeks of the trial, adding he would relieve them of jury service for the remainder of their life.

In closing speeches, Justin Dillon, prosecuting, had said the two accused had failed to deal with Evelyn’s Joel’s immobility. He said Evelyn Joel had taken to her bed in November 2005 and was bedridden from then on.

“There is a sense that the HSE has been put in the dock,” he said, before adding there was no evidence that Eleanor Joel or Costen had asked for help.

The court heard the jury was dealing with two people who lead ordinary lives. He outlined how there was no indication that Eleanor Joel suffered from an obvious intellectual impairment and, on the contrary, she was able to write an 8,000-word life history for a psychologist.

He said it struck him after watching the video interview of Costen with gardaí that he was “well able to look after himself”.

In her closing speech, Rosario Boyle said her client Eleanor Joel “did not kill her mother”.

She said Evelyn Joel had died from pneumonia and a postmortem showed her brain was shrunken from MS. She said Evelyn Joel had advanced brain damage, saying that jury had to consider how long she might have survived “anyway because of the disease”.

Ms Boyle said Eleanor Joel did not physically care for her mother. “She had made it clear she had not done so because her mother wouldn’t let her.”

She said that during her first interview with gardaí, Eleanor Joel had said she got “fed up” looking after her mother.

“Of course she got fed up… which one of us wouldn’t?” Ms Boyle asked.

John O’Kelly, defending Costen, said the prosecution case “cannot bear the cold light of scientific scrutiny”.

“You have to prove that they actually did this. What I am saying is there isn’t a scrap of evidence that they did.”

Judge Griffin remanded both accused on bail to appear before Wexford Circuit Criminal Court on January 11.