Jury in Geoghegan trial sent home for third time

The jury in the trial of the man accused of murdering Shane Geoghegan has been sent home after a third day deliberating without reaching a verdict.

Barry Doyle, with addresses in Limerick and Portland Row in Dublin, denies murdering the 28-year-old on November 9, 2008.

The jury is now down to 10 members. One juror left because of an illness in the family, another left today because he had booked a holiday to America.

That means the option of returning a majority verdict of 10 to one is no longer available and they must be unanimous in their decision.

Barry Doyle is accused of gunning down Shane Geoghegan near the rugby player’s home in a suspected case of mistaken identity.

The father-of-three confessed to the shooting to gardaí while in custody, but the defence claims his admissions resulted from threats and promises from detectives.

The jury has been out for nearly 11 hours in total. They will resume their task tomorrow morning.