Trial opens in Cork of man accused of murder five years ago

The court was told that the defendant and the dead man 'had some knowledge of each other in advance' of the alleged incident

Tyler Jackson in February 2022. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering 24-year-old Conor Quinn at Bridge Street, Mallow, County Cork, on July 12, 2018.

A 24-year-old Galway man at Cahirmee Horse Fair travelled to Mallow for fast food and got into an altercation with a local man and died as a result of a single stab wound to the chest, the prosecution claimed at the opening of a murder trial.

Tyler Jackson of Ballydaheen West, Mallow, Co. Cork, appeared at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering 24-year-old Conor Quinn at Bridge Street, Mallow, County Cork, on July 12, 2018.

Prosecution senior counsel, Ray Boland, opened the case before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury of eight men and four women.

He told them what he anticipated the prosecution evidence would be but emphasised that this was merely an outline and was not itself evidence and also stressed that there was a presumption of innocence and that this would not change unless the jury found the accused guilty of murder or manslaughter at the end of the trial.

The deceased was 24 at the time of his death on that Thursday in July five years ago and the accused was 21 and is now 26.

“You will hear that the night before the death of Conor Quinn he stayed overnight in Killavullen. He is from Galway. On the day he died, Conor Quinn was with his cousins… socialising at Cahirmee Horse Fair.

“They went travelling in a car — they decided to get some food in Mallow and they parked on Main Street, Mallow. Conor Quinn spotted Tyler Jackson. Conor Quinn got out of the car and confronted Tyler Jackson — also known by his nickname Tiggy,” Mr Boland SC said. 

They had some knowledge of each other in advance. There was some animosity between them (over a matter related to one of Conor Quinn’s cousins). They were not friendly.

He said the jury would hear evidence and see CCTV of the movements of both parties around Mallow town following this first interaction one minute before 8pm, and that they would hear of a second interaction between the two parties at 8.38pm on the CCTV evidence.

“At 8.38pm the deceased and his party were stopped in traffic on Bridge Street. The deceased was in the front passenger seat of the car. Conor Quinn spotted Tyler Jackson across the road by Cremin’s cycle shop. He left the car to confront Tyler Jackson. It was a physical confrontation — a scuffle between them.

“And Tyler Jackson struck the deceased, Conor Quinn, once in the chest and ran away. The prosecution contention is that the strike was with a knife. It was a stab wound and that is the wound from which he died. I am sure that will be contested by the defence.

“Conor Quinn came back to his companions and said, ‘He is after stabbing me’. By coincidence, there was an ambulance also stopped in traffic. They went to the ambulance for assistance. Within a minute or two he collapsed, never regained consciousness and died.

“He was brought to the CUH and pronounced dead. Pathologist, Margaret Bolster, said the cause of death was haemorrhage and shock with partially collapsed lung resulting from a single stab wound to the thorax,” Mr Boland said.