Murder trial jury to resume deliberations tomorrow

The jury will resume deliberating tomorrow morning in the trial of a 23-year-old man charged with murdering his father.

James McInerney of Lacey Avenue, Templemore, Co Tipperary has pleaded not guilty to murdering 56-year-old James ‘Jimmy’ McInerney Snr at the family home on June 17, 2009.

Mr Justice John Edwards told the five women and seven men of the jury to unanimously bring in one of three possible verdicts. They can acquit the accused completely, find him guilty of murder or find him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

He reminded the jury of the State’s case, that the defendant murdered his father by striking him multiple times with a spade, unprovoked and not while acting in self defence.

He also repeated the defence’s arguments. He said the primary defence case was that there was no unlawful killing because the killing was committed in reasonable self defence. He said that if they accepted this they should acquit the accused.

He said that if they decided the killing was unlawful, they should consider the secondary position of the defence and convict him of no more than manslaughter. He said there were three separate grounds for this verdict: a lack of intent to kill or seriously injure, self defence with unreasonable force or provocation.

After deliberating for an hour and a half this evening, the jury asked for the statement of neighbour Margaret Carroll, who saw the killing from her bedroom window. The judge said he would read her testimony to them when they return to court in the morning.