State pathologist intervened over colleague’s evidence

State pathologist Marie Cassidy’s “dramatic intervention” over evidence given in a murder trial by her former deputy, Khalid Jaber, has resulted in a High Court ruling prohibiting a retrial.

The trial of Michael Furlong, aged 37, of the Moyne, Enniscorthy, Wexford, charged with murdering Patrick Connors, aged 37, at the Carraig Tur apartment complex, Enniscorthy, in April 2011, collapsed in November 2013 following a dispute about Dr Jaber’s evidence.

Dr Jaber resigned as deputy State pathologist in 2013 following a row with Prof Cassidy in which he wrote letters to State and professional bodies criticising her and suggesting she was not sufficiently qualified to act as state pathologist.