Killer Kearney fails in bid for Supreme Court appeal

Convicted wife killer Brian Kearney has been refused a Supreme Court appeal.

A court has ruled that his murder case failed to raise a point of exceptional public importance.

Brian Kearney was convicted in 2008 and jailed for life for strangling his wife Siobhan with the flex of a vacuum cleaner at their home in Goatstown, Dublin.

His appeal was unsuccesful. In the latest motion, he sought permission for his case to be decided by the Supreme Court on grounds that it raised an exceptionally important point of law.

The question was whether it is open to trial judges to admit evidence where they are "mindful" of its possible prejudicial effect on an accused.

For example, his lawyers argued that the the fact the jury was told Siobhan Kearney kept a diary could have led to prejudicial speculation against her husband as to its contents.

The three-judge court has refused a Supreme Court hearing on the grounds that the point raised is very specific to the circumstances of this case and does not have general application.