Father is jailed for life after jury finds him guilty of murdering infant son

John Tighe, aged 40, from Lavallyroe in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, has been sentenced to life imprisonment following his conviction for the murder of his infant son, Joshua Sussbier Tighe, who died on 1 June 2013. A jury at the Central Criminal Court returned a unanimous guilty verdict after deliberating for seven hours and 32 minutes. Tighe had pleaded not guilty to the charge and maintained throughout the proceedings that his son's death resulted from an accident. The prosecution case centred on evidence that tissue had been deliberately placed in the child's airway. Medical experts, including a paediatrician, testified that a six-and-a-half-month-old infant would lack the developmental capability to form or swallow a wad of tissue of the size recovered from the child's throat. A post-mortem examination had identified two pieces of tissue obstructing the airway, including an egg-shaped wad measuring approximately five centimetres by three and a half centimetres. The defence contended the death was accidental, with Tighe claiming he discovered the baby choking on tissue after briefly stepping away. During trial, the prosecution highlighted apparent inconsistencies in successive accounts the accused provided to gardaí and emergency personnel regarding the timeline and circumstances of the incident. The defence argued such variations were natural responses to trauma and emphasised Tighe's immediate call for emergency help and his previously unblemished character. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy imposed the mandatory life sentence. The child's mother delivered an impact statement to the court describing the profound trauma she has endured since her son's death. The case heard evidence that Tighe and the child's mother later had a second child together.