Jury disagrees in trial of man accused of stabbing acquaintance

A jury has disagreed in the trial of a young Dublin man accused of stabbing a local acquaintance in the back.

Karl Fogarty (21) of Corduff Close, Blanchardstown had pleaded not guilty to assaulting Mr Darren Farmer causing him serious harm in the early hours of July 29, 2006 which left him in a coma for a week.

The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury was unable to return a verdict after three hours of deliberating.

Garda David O'Grady said earlier that he saw a youth in a white hoodie top and baseball cap a short distance away from the scene of the attack at a Corduff Avenue green, but that this youth ran away from him when he saw his uniform.

Gda O'Grady told Mr Sean Guerin BL, prosecuting, that this youth later passed by the house where Mr Farmer had called for help and gave the name Karl Fogarty when questioned.

Mr Farmer (aged 28) of Luhunda Road, Blanchardstown, had said in evidence that he saw "Charlo" Fogarty in a dark hoodie top and jeans with a knife in his hand, seconds after he was stabbed while walking across the green that night.

He said he saw the Mr Fogarty "clearly" after the attack, even though at that time he only knew him by his nickname "Charlo".

Gda O'Grady said Mr Fogarty told him he hadn't seen any incident in the area when he was stopped by gardaí and explained that the blood on his elbow was from when he smashed a window for a girl who had locked herself out of her house earlier that night.

Mr Guerin read the medical report of a Connolly Hospital doctor, which outlined that Mr Farmer was "almost killed" in the attack.

The doctor said in the report that "multiple units of blood" were administered to Mr Farmer, who underwent a five-hour operation and was fitted with a chest drain before he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of St James Hospital.

Another doctor described Mr Farmer as being "conscious and able to answer questions" in his report and said that the injured party was "unable to give any information as to who had stabbed him and it was all very vague".

Judge Frank O'Donnell thanked the six men and six women of the jury for completing their civic service and put the matter back for trial at a later date.