Accused was ‘so calm’ after stabbing

A murder trial jury has heard that when a security guard at a Kilkenny shopping centre confronted a man who had repeatedly stabbed a woman, he did not see “any emotion in him” and “he was so calm after what he had done”.

Shane Smyth, aged 29, with an address at McGuinness House, Evans Lane, Kilkenny, is charged with murdering Mairead Moran, aged 26, on May 8, 2014, at the Market Cross Shopping Centre in Kilkenny City.

At the Central Criminal Court yesterday, Mr Smyth pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.