Carlow man found guilty of manslaughter

A 22 year-old Carlow man has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of a teenage father-of-one who was stabbed to death in a row in Carlow town in 2001.

At the Central Criminal Court today after more than seven hours of deliberations a jury of six men and six women unanimously found John Dillon of Granby Row, Carlow not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Warren Slater, aged 17, at Granby Row, Carlow on May 13, 2001. Dillon had denied the charge.

Dillon, who had sat with his head bowed for most of the nine-day trial, looked forward at the jury as the verdict was announced. Ms Louise Heary, the girlfriend of the deceased sat at the back of court crying openly.

Mr Slater choked on his own blood after being stabbed three times by Dillon in a row outside his home. During the trial the jury heard that a couple of weeks before the stabbing, Slater allegedly tried to rape the accused man’s mother.

Mr Justice Barry White thanked the jury and discharged them from jury service for 10 years. He remanded Mr Dillon in custody and he will be sentenced on February 28.