Murder trial jury still to reach verdict

The jury in the trial of a man who denies murdering one of his best friends and says he was acting in self-defence at the time of the alleged attack, has been sent home for the night after failing to reach a verdict.

Following just over two hours of deliberations at the Central Criminal Court, the jury of six men and six women failed to come to an unanimous agreement in the trial of Martin Toland, an unemployed Dublin man with an address at Walkinstown Park.

The 34-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his friend Alan Nolan (aged 28), at his apartment in Cedarbrook Walk, Ballyfermot in September 2007.

Mr Nolan was stabbed five times; the court has heard that the fatal stab wound was 11cm deep and penetrated the heart.

The accused has also denied the second charge of recklessly or intentionally causing serious harm to James Carroll (aged 30), on the same date.

He suffered “life-threatening” stab wounds to his heart and stomach, but survived and gave evidence in the trial last week.

The jury had deliberated for around an hour when they returned and asked Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy to re-read the transcript of Mr Carroll's evidence.

In his evidence, Mr Carroll told the court that the three men had spent the evening of Friday September 7 2007, night drinking, playing PlayStation games and poker for money. A portion of an ecstasy tablet was also consumed by the three and he they were all in good form and getting on well.

In the early hours of the morning he said the accused and Mr Nolan got into a row over a series of calls that the deceased had been receiving throughout the night.

There was a scuffle downstairs that he tried to break up, and then he said the two men went upstairs to talk things over, while he remained downstairs on the living room couch.

On hearing screams and a commotion, he ran to Mr Nolan's bedroom, where he found the accused sitting astride Mr Nolan who was lying on the bed.

Mr Carroll said he didn't see a knife at that time.

He said Mr Nolan shouted at him to get the accused out of the house, after which Mr Toland began backing away, holding a knife out in front of him.

Mr Carroll said he followed Mr Toland who kept backing down the stairs, and that they had reached the front door and the accused was retreating through it, when Mr Nolan appeared at the end of the stairs.

The witness said Mr Nolan shouted “get that scumbag out” and then added something else that sent Mr Toland into “a fit of rage.”

Mr Carroll said he didn't hear what his friend shouted, but that on hearing it, the accused “barged through” him, stabbing him in the process in an effort to get to Mr Nolan.

The he said he went weak and blacked out.

In his address to the jury, counsel for the defence, Mr Diarmuid McGuinness SC, said that Mr Carroll's account of the night “ should give them cause to pause.”

He said that the forensic evidence didn't back up Mr Carroll's evidence that he was stabbed by the front door.

And the account of the events that the accused gave to gardaí differed from Mr Carroll's version.

Mr Toland said that after he went upstairs to talk things over with his friend, Mr Nolan pulled a knife and came towards him, but tripped up on the duvet, and after the two men struggled, the accused ended up with the knife.

He said Mr Carroll appeared on the scene and the two men began advancing towards him, while he backed away “jabbing and swinging” the knife in front of him and shouting “get back, get back.”

Mr Toland said he thought the two men were going to give him “ a hiding” and that one blow to the head could kill him, as he was suffering from a number of health problems and was also on warfarin, a drug that prevents the blood from clotting.

“They wouldn't let me leave. I feared for my life...I can't remember a sort of crazy attack, I just wanted to get out of there” he told gardaí.

He said that he continued backing away across the landing, and then all three tumbled down the stairs together.

The accused said he couldn't remember stabbing anyone, but accepted that the stab wounds could have been inflicted during the fall on the stairs.

As he was leaving to go, he noticed Mr Nolan slouched over the couch and realising he'd been hurt badly, called for an ambulance.

Counsel for the prosecution, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, said that the jury should consider whether or not the accused was lying and whether part of his account was “ an invention” so that he “could keep his options open.”

The jury also requested the recording of the 999 calls that the accused made, and the tapes of his interviews with gardaí at Ballyfermot Garda station.

They are due to resume their deliberations at 10.30am tomorrow.