Man found guilty of New Year's Eve manslaughter

A Dublin man has been found not guilty of killing his friend in a New Year 's Eve fight a jury in the Central Criminal Court has found.

The jury of ten men and two women took just over five hours to find Karl Breen (aged 27), with an address at Nangor Crescent Clondalkin not guilty to the murder of his friend Martin McLaughlin (aged 21), but guilty to manslaughter by a majority of ten to two.

Breen stabbed Mr McLaughlin three times, including once which pierced his heart, in the early hours of January 1, 2006.

During the trial the court heard that Breen had been out celebrating New Years Eve with Mr McLaughlin, their girlfriends and three other couples.

They had checked into the Jury's Inn Hotel, beside Croke Park and had dinner together in the hotel drinking five bottles of Moet and Chandon before ordering taxis to take them to Isaac Butts nightclub in Store Street.

At about 1am they all returned to the hotel and continued drinking in the hotel residents' bar. At around 4am a number of them went up to room 332, the room Breen had booked with his girlfriend Nicola Nugent. During the trial the jury were shown CCTV footage of Breen hugging Mr McLaughlin in the hotel lobby at around this time.

In room 332 another bottle of champagne was ordered. A row broke out. The jury heard from Ms Elaine Fagan, Mr McLaughlin's girlfriend who said that Breen put his hand on her face and pushed her away when she was "in his face screaming at him" because he was having "a few words" with his girlfriend, Nicola Nugent, who was nine months pregnant at the time.

"I think I could have hit him or punched him or something and then him and Marty started fighting." she told Mr Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting.

Giving evidence in his defence, Breen told Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, Ms Fagan had been on "like a broken record" about two cars stolen from her aunt, which Mr McLaughlin was trying to get back.

During the altercation Breen grabbed her hair, sparking the fight with Mr McLaughlin. "He said to me, what are ya doing to me bird? But before I had a chance to say anything, he hit me."

Breen said after trading sloppy punches Mr McLaughlin head-butted him, busting his lip and then pinned him on the bed.

"He's a dirty fighter, I don't want to drag his name through the mud but I saw him fight before."

He told the court Mr McLaughlin had him round the throat so he grabbed a flick knife that was lying beside the bed, brought there by another member of the group. During the course of the fight that followed Mr McLaughlin was stabbed three times, in the arm, the back and the chest, puncturing his heart.

Ms Fagan told the court she went to leave the room and called Mr McLaughlin to follow but as she walked out she heard a scream and turned to see the two men in the hallway.

"I just turned looking at Marty and then he just collapsed like."

Breen went back into the room, changed out of the shirt he was wearing and left the hotel with the knife. He went to a friend's house in Red Cow then booked into a local hotel. He handed himself into gardaí on January 3rd.

Mr McLaughlin died from his injuries in the Mater Hospital on January 2nd.

Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins thanked the jury for the care and attention they gave to the case and excused them from further jury service for a period of ten years.

A date for sentencing will be decided next Wednesday.