Dublin man acquitted of murder

A 31-year-old Dublin man accused of murder was today acquitted at the Central Criminal Court by direction of the trial judge and a re-trial was ordered in relation to his 32-year-old co-accused.

Alan Keogh (aged 32), of Wellmount Green, Finglas, Dublin, and Gary McNevin (aged 31), of no fixed abode, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Peter Mitchell (aged 32), of Monasterboice Road, Crumlin, Dublin, at Monasterboice Road between and inclusive of October 17 and 20, 2003.

After an application was made to the trial judge, Mr Justice Michael Peart, he directed the jury to acquit Mr McNevin. The judge then discharged the jury and ordered a re-trial in connection to Mr Keogh.

Mr Justice Peart told the jury that "certain legal submissions were made" in their absence and as a result "I am directing a verdict of not guilty be entered on Mr McNevin".

"I am satisfied that the case was insufficient to put to you for your own decision. It would also be inappropriate to deliberate on just one of the accused so it follows that there will be a re-trial in relation to the other accused, Mr Keogh," the judge said.

During the 13-day trial, the court heard the deceased man, a father-of-three, was found by gardaí dead on his sofa with 16 stab wounds and his feet tied with a shoelace. The court heard that the address where the killing occurred was the home of the accused.

The deceased man, the court heard, worked in a maintenance depot for Dublin City Council and had three children with a partner, all of whom lived separately from Mr Mitchell.

On October 16, the day before his death, Mr Mitchell was with his children in the afternoon and he brought them back to his partner's home at approximately 7.30pm.

That evening, the deceased went to a pub on Parnell Street, where the two accused, along with a woman, were also drinking. "At some point, they appeared to fall into the company of Peter Mitchell," prosecuting counsel, Mr Brendan Grehan SC told the court.

All four then went to an off-licence and took a taxi to the dead man's home in Crumlin in the early hours of October 17, the court heard.

Following a tip-off, gardaí arrived at the dead man's home on October 21. "They could see in the front window of the house that there was a body on the couch which was not moving," Mr Grehan said.

The back door of the house was open, and gardaí entered to discover "a lot of blood on the floor, on the couch, splatters on the walls, the ceilings and the kitchen", the court heard.

The man on the sofa, identified later as Peter Mitchell, was sitting up fully-clothed and had no shoes on. "His legs were tied together with what appeared to be a lace from his shoes, which were found nearby", Mr Grehan said.

The body had a total of 16 stab wounds, six of which injured the heart, lungs and aorta, the jury heard.

"It's quite clear that Peter Mitchell received his death in fairly appalling circumstances," Mr Grehan said.

The mother of Mr Keogh, Ms Pauline Keogh, told the court that her son said he had "murdered someone" and "was going to kill himself".

Ms Keogh told the jury that her son came home to collect clothes on Saturday, October 18 and that she next saw him the following Monday.

The accused was having a conversation behind closed doors in the sitting room with his sister, the court heard.

Ms Keogh went in and asked her son: "Please tell me what happened."

"He said: 'I murdered someone,'" she said.

"I started screaming and crying, saying he wouldn’t do something like that," Ms Keogh told the court.

She said her son "kept banging his head off the wall". The accused told Ms Keogh that he was going to kill himself.

Ms Keogh asked Alan to leave: "I said: 'Go, go out of the house and leave me alone'."

Cross-examined by Keogh's counsel, Ms Isobel Kennedy SC, the mother said she had never seen her son as upset as he was that night.