Carrigaline murder trial hears incident was 'two worlds colliding' in a 'chance encounter'

Ms Justice Lankford said that the jury should approach the case as effectively being two separate trials and that in each one there were three possible verdicts open to them: guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter or not guilty

The prosecution said the jury could have regard to blood of the deceased being found on a sock worn by Ricardo Hoey (pictured). File picture: Dan Linehan

The two young men accused of murdering a 29-year-old man in Carrigaline during Christmas of 2022 had no intention of killing or seriously injuring him and it was a chance encounter which only lasted seconds where two worlds collided, a defence lawyer claimed at the closing of the case.

But the prosecution put it to the jury that there was sufficient evidence on which they could find both accused guilty of murder.