Legal argument nearly collapsed trial six weeks in

The Michaela McAreavey murder trial could have collapsed six weeks into the hearing evidence.

The threat surfaced in a legal argument in the absence of the jury, when defence lawyer Sanjeev Teeluckdharry lodged a motion to have the jurors dismissed after claiming their minds had been poisoned by interventions by the judge.

Mr Teeluckdharry was referring to questions Justice Prithviraj Fecknah posed to his client Avinash Treebhoowon during cross-examination by the prosecution.