Limerick man found guilty of murder

A Limerick man has been found guilty of the murder of a man he described as a friend by a unanimous jury verdict in the Central Criminal Court.

But the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment will not be imposed until March 28 next after the judge adjourned sentencing to that date.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said he wanted to recall the deputy state pathologist to hear evidence in relation to homicide trends in the Limerick area. It is understood that Dr Marie Cassidy has compiled a study into trends throughout the state.

The judge has in the past referred to the high number of murder cases coming before the Central Criminal Court from the Limerick area.

In tonight’s verdict, Gerard Hayes (38) of John Carew Park, Limerick was found guilty of the murder of John Robinson (20) of Swallow Drive, John Carew Park on January 22/23 2000 at John Carew Park, Limerick.

The jury had heard that Robinson was staying in the accused’s house when the incident took place in the early hours of the morning of January 23, 2000. At the time, Robinson was fighting with his own family and had a barring order taken out against him.

A post mortem showed he sustained 36 stab wounds and 27 cuts to his body, mainly to the head, face, chest and arms. The cause of death was loss of blood, due to two stab wounds to the jugular veins on both sides of the neck.

Mr Justice Carney had told the jury that it could find the accused man guilty of murder or, if it found provocation, guilty of manslaughter. He said a Not Guilty verdict was not open to them in the case.

The jury rejected Hayes’ defence that he did not intend to kill or cause serious injury when he stabbed Robinson repeatedly.

Hayes claimed that he was provoked by Robinson, who he said threw a bottle at him three times, the third time causing an injury to the side of his head.

The jury rejected the provocation claim and accepted Hayes’ own account to gardai, in which he said he lost his temper. In his trial, Hayes attempted to deny he had ever made those remarks to gardai, but the jury also rejected that defence.