Man charged with murder said co-accused pointed gun to his head

Three men appeared before the Central Criminal Court in June 2014 charged with murder in connection with the death of a twenty-year-old in County Kildare the previous April. All three entered not guilty pleas to the charge of murder at Coneyboro, Athy on 6 April 2013. During garda interviews, one defendant claimed a co-accused had pointed a firearm to his head and compelled him to drive to the scene. Another co-accused stated he had no prior knowledge the victim would be shot and said he was taken to the location without warning. This defendant subsequently located and disclosed the position of the firearm to investigating officers. The accused who admitted to firing the shot told gardaí that the deceased had threatened him regarding missing money and had made threats toward his family. He claimed he obtained a sawn-off shotgun and discharged it at the victim's shoulder, maintaining the shooting was not intentional and that he believed the shot struck the shoulder area rather than causing fatal injury. He characterised the incident as accidental and later raised provocation as a defence. Post-mortem findings established that the victim sustained a shotgun wound to the head, with the discharge occurring from close range. One defendant pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of possession of a sawn-off shotgun with intent to endanger life, though he admitted to possession of the firearm in suspicious circumstances. The other two defendants pleaded not guilty to related firearms offences. The trial proceeded with legal argument and presentation of garda interview material. By July, a jury convicted the principal accused of murder. The two co-accused subsequently pleaded guilty to manslaughter and firearms possession offences. All three received sentences in July and November 2014, with the convicted murderer sentenced to life imprisonment and additional substantial terms for the firearms convictions.